The Eighth Month
by ATTHS
Summary: The eighth month of pregnancy presents its challenges and triumphs.
1. Painting and Preparations

Mulder was finishing taping the walls as he prepared the bedroom to be painted. He looked over as he heard Scully sigh from the doorway. She was dressed and ready for the baby shower.

"I can't believe you're actually making me go to this thing," Scully said, crossing her arms, her shoes dangling from her fingers, as she took a deep breath.

He looked at her and rolled his eyes.

""Making" you go? Scully, it's your baby shower. The women at the hospital are doing this for you. I'm not "making" you do anything," he shook his head as he finished the corner and stepped off the step ladder.

"Besides, you can't be here when I'm painting, as you are aware. So, you go to the party and then I will meet you for dinner at the hotel. You'll stay there while the fumes get out of the house and I finish up here. It's all planned, as you well know. So, go," he said to her with a waving motion of his hand.

She stared at him and reached to touch her stomach. "This dress feels too tight. I don't know if I should wear it. You wanna take it off of me?" she asked, a purr in her voice.

She had bought a new dress for the party, a blue one, almost the color of the paint they had selected for the bedroom. She had tried it on downstairs a few days ago and asked him what he thought of it. He had walked over to her, his hands reaching out to caress the soft fabric, before slowly sliding it up and off of her, tossing it on the kitchen chair. His hands ghosting across her body, caused her to shiver. Her underclothes and his own clothing quickly following as he pulled her onto him on the couch, their mouths fused together, her nails gripping his neck.

After they had finished and they lay on the couch, sweaty and panting, she lamented that she would need to return her dress. He looked at her, surprised. She explained that if everyone who saw her in the dress responded the way he did, she would be in trouble. He had laughed, then kissed her until they both moaned.

He narrowed his eyes at her, and shook his head. "Don't think your seductress charm will work on me again, woman. You need to scoot out of here. I got stuff to do. Go on," he put his hand on her waist and herded her out the door.

She whined as he pushed her gently to the stairs. He grabbed her overnight bag and walked behind her as she headed down the stairs. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water as she sat down at the table. She huffed at him but he ignored her.

He set her bag down, grabbed her shoes from her, and slid them on her feet. Even pregnant, she insisted on wearing heels. These were shorter than normal, but still, that was his Scully.

She sighed again as he stood up. She pulled on her dress and he reached his hand out to her.

"Your dress looks fine, Scully. Stop acting like you're being sentenced to death. It's a baby shower, for god's sake," he said rolling his eyes.

"Ha!" she said as she stood up, holding onto his hand. "You think it's just a party? Just a gathering? **You** aren't going to be the one whose stomach they will be touching, or trying to guess how big it is, cutting strings to show the size. You won't be asked over and over about the sex of the baby, why you don't know, and what names have been decided on. You don't have to play baby games where you "guess the flavor" of the baby food in unmarked jars. You also don't have to listen to births those attending went through or, as doctors, have experienced. I'm a doctor, and a woman who's had a baby, I don't need to hear about it. I **know** it's going to hurt."

He stood and stared at her. "Bullshit. All that will happen in two or three hours?"

"Yes! What do you think happened at these things?!" she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

"I don't know! How would I? I've never been to a baby shower!" he said, feeling horrified. That sounded awful.

"Yeah. That's what happens. It's not as cute and charming as it sounds," she said, walking toward the door. "I mean.. okay it's pretty cute. All the tiny clothes, the toys, the discussion of cute things the babies do or first smiles."

She picked up her keys and put on the cover that came with the dress. A light short sleeved white top. "The stories of first words, when they first walked.. we get to do that Mulder. Be there for all of it this time," she said, her eyes sad.

She looked at him and sighed. He walked over to her and pulled her to him. She put her face in his chest and he heard her sniffle.

"Scully," he said holding her tight and closing his eyes. "I know you regret missing William growing up. I do too. All we can do is know he is safe and one day we will see him again."

He pulled back and held her face in his hands. He wiped her tears as he heard tires crunching on the grass outside. They both turned to see Skinner pull up and get out of the car.

"Well good. Skinner is here now. You can finally get to work," she said jokingly, trying to lighten the heavy moment.

"Finally?" he asked. "I've **been** ready to get to work. I've just been waiting for your ass to leave."

He smacked her ass and she giggled. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. Then a deeper one. He put his hands on her waist and held her as she deepened the kiss even more.

He pulled back and stared eyes of fire at her. "Jesus, woman. Get out of here. We have stuff to do and Skinner does not want to see us makeout again."

"No, he does not," came Skinner's deep but annoyed voice from the side of the porch through the screen door.

She laughed and Mulder winked at her. She kissed him again, grabbing onto his shirt. She planted little quick kisses all over his face before he pulled his head back, laughing.

"I'll see you later," she murmured against his lips, kissing him once more. "Bring a sleeping bag,"

"Oh.. you implying I'm gonna get lucky?" he asked, grinning at her as she stepped back.

"Come on.." Skinner said, a growl in his voice.

She giggled and grabbed her bag, pushing open the screen door.

Skinner stood up from his spot against the railing and walked over to her. He kissed her cheek and took her bag out of her hand. He put his hand on her back and led her down the stairs.

Mulder watched them from the doorway, giving them a moment. He saw Skinner lean in and say something to her and she laughed, head thrown back, hand on her stomach. He looked back at Mulder and so did she, the both of them smiling. Making a joke at his expense, no doubt. He just smiled.

The day after they had found William and saved Skinner and Reyes, they had gone into the bureau to give their statement to Kersh. He had shouted and screamed, only to have them both stand up and quit, causing his face to become the angriest he had ever seen. Scully's anger had exploded to the surface, in a way he had not seen in a long time. He had to pull her out of the room by the back of her coat, knowing her so well and sensing her white hot rage. She had been shaking as they left. She thanked him for pulling her out of there as she was close to telling Kersh to fuck off and go straight to hell.

After they left, and her anger had dissipated, they had gone to be see how Skinner was doing. He had a fractured leg, a couple broken ribs, and a laceration on his head. He was on a lot of painkillers and did not wake when they had visited.

Every day he had gotten better. Now six months later, he had made almost a full recovery. He had also quit the bureau, where he felt his presence was no longer needed. He was contemplating working with a Veterans program, but also enjoying his time off. He and Mulder had met up quite a bit recently, being two out of work ex FBI employees, they had time on their hands.

He was there today to help with the painting and putting the furniture together. Everything was downstairs, waiting to be hauled up once the paint was dry. Thankfully, the day was warm and therefore the walls would dry quickly. Once it was done, they would begin to put the things together and then arrange the room.

Mulder watched Skinner say something else to Scully and she nodded, her face serious. She and Skinner stared at each other and he put his hand on her shoulder and nodded. He stepped back and put her bag in the car.

Mulder headed across the porch and down the stairs. Scully looked at him and smiled. He reached in his pocket and took out a cardboard card holder. She looked confused as he handed it to her.

"The hotel room card. Room 621. It's written down on the cover, in case you forget," he handed it to her and she raised her eyebrows.

"This is a really nice hotel, Mulder," she said, surprise in her voice as she looked at the name.

"Did you expect something else?" he asked her.

"Considering the places we've stayed in the past, I did," she said honestly.

"Well, that wasn't on me," he said with a look to Skinner.

"Oh, fuck off," Skinner said, walking to his car to get his toolbox.

They both laughed and Mulder opened the door for her. She got herself in and buckled her seatbelt. She rolled the windows down as she started the car. Mulder leaned in for one more kiss and turned to walk away.

"Hey, hon," she called out.

He turned around and walked back at her head gesture.

"There is still one more box of stuff in the living room. The stuff from my mom's house," she said quietly, looking in his eyes. "It's full of papers and says "Mulder Family" on the top envelope. I didn't want to open it. So it's there still."

"Are you telling me to go through it?" he asked her, lowering his eyes.

"I'm not **telling** you to do anything. I'm just reminding you it's there and we are getting things situated, that's all," she said, touching his face as he nodded.

"Okay," he said stepping back from the car so she could get going.

"Big, small, and every way in between," she said, putting the car in reverse, looking at him and smiling.

"Love you, too," he said with a smile as she backed up and then drove off.

Skinner came and stood next to him. He watched Scully leave and shook his head.

"You are a very lucky man, Mulder," Skinner said quietly.

"You have no idea," Mulder replied, shaking his head.

They both turned and started back up the steps. Skinner grabbed the toolbox from the porch and Mulder held the door as they walked inside.

"Wow.. that's a lot of boxes," Skinner said, setting down his toolbox and eyeing the area of the room that held all the items to be put together.

"Yeah, but we, well Scully, has it all arranged with how it needs to go, so it shouldn't take to long. Paint first, though. It's all ready," Mulder said, looking at the pile of stuff.

Mulder walked into the kitchen, grabbed two beers and they headed upstairs. They stood in the room, looking around. Everything was ready, they just needed to get started.

"What time are you needing to get out of here?" Skinner asked as they began pouring paint into trays.

"We have reservations for dinner at the hotel at 7:30. So 7:00, latest," Mulder answered.

Skinner nodded and they began rolling the brushes in the paint and then along the walls. They worked quietly together for awhile until Skinner gave a disbelieving chuckle.

Mulder looked at him, wondering what he found funny.

"A baby," Skinner said, shaking his head.

"I know," Mulder agreed.

"How did this even happen?" Skinner asked.

"Well.." Mulder began, but Skinner cut him off.

"That's not what I mean. She's not supposed to be able to have children. How could a woman who is supposedly barren get pregnant twice?" Skinner asked, pausing in his painting to look at Mulder.

Mulder sighed and stopped painting too. He shook his head and rubbed his face. He looked down sighing and then looked back at Skinner.

"Honestly.. we haven't delved into it too far. We're still shocked it happened. So many negatives to focus on, we've made an effort to only think of the positives. She's healthy, the baby is growing and developing like she should. I think that's as far as we want to go for now," Mulder said, shaking his head again.

"She?" Skinner asked. "It's a girl?"

"No. I mean, we don't know. We aren't going to find out. Scully seems to think it's a girl. That it feels different this time. I don't know," Mulder said shrugging his shoulders.

They looked at each other. Skinner shook his head.

"I don't buy it," he said, grabbing his beer and shaking his head again. "You question everything, Mulder. The fact that she had one child and now another, pardon my bluntness, at her age combined with all we know about the past, it just..it seems unlikely. It also seems unlike **you** to not ask questions."

He took a drink of his beer and then stared at Mulder. Mulder sighed and rested his paint roller in the tray.

"I have thought about it. It has been something, I've considered. Honestly.. the thought that **this** child could be wanted and sought after terrifies me. But, I don't feel that could be the case," he said, leaning against an unpainted wall. "I told you William had Scully's DNA. I'm not so sure about mine. And I know you have **your** doubts."

Muider held his stare until Skinner had the decency to look away. "You know he's a god damn liar," Mulder said quietly.

Skinner nodded. Mulder sighed and put his head against the wall, closing his eyes.

"If you think he's a liar, know he is, why not test your own DNA?" Skinner asked, watching Mulder.

"I don't want to know the truth," he said his voice wobbling a bit. "I feel like.. that means Scully is all alone in this, and I can't, I won't do that to her. That the truth we've believed for so long was a lie. That in our crazy fucked up journeys, something else was done to her. Something she did not deserve or consent to.. I won't do that to her. He is my son, no matter what."

He stared hard at Skinner, daring him to say or think otherwise. They stared at one another until Skinner nodded. Mulder let out a breath and they resumed painting the room. Quiet, but comfortable.

Between the two of them, it did not take long to finish the first coat. Just as they were about to start on the next one, the delivery truck pulled up, bringing the rocking chair, footstool, car seats and crib mattress.

Mulder and Skinner went downstairs to meet them. As Mulder was directing them to leave the items in the living room, another car pulled up.

A young kid stepped out and reached into the backseat, grabbing a pizza. Mulder was confused, he had not ordered anything.

"I think you might have the wrong address," he said to the kid as he approached the steps. "I didn't order a pizza."

Even as he said it, he felt his stomach rumble. It had been a long time since breakfast. Maybe he could convince the kid to sell it to him, with some extra money for the true recipient.

"Uh.. no this is the correct address. But I think I have the name wrong. I'm not sure it's the correct name," he said, looking a bit nervous.

"Does it say Fox?" Mulder asked with a sigh. "That's my name."

"No.. it says "Schmoopie"?" he read off the receipt, his face going red.

Mulder laughed and shook his head. Scully. What a troublemaker. She had called him that **once** when he had been angry with her. Angry for something stupid, and she had laughed at his attitude. She had made faces as he huffed and puffed, acting like a child.

" _What's the matter, Schmoopie? You're so angry? You're wrong and I'm right. Admit it. Quit being such a baby. Get over here and kiss me."_

And so he had. But from then on, she would call him that to make a point, and push his buttons.

"Yeah.. that's me," Mulder said, shaking his head at that memory, still chuckling.

He reached for his wallet but the kid stopped him.

"No sir, it's already paid for and the tip is covered too. I was told to have it here by 12:30 and to say… to say," he said, closing his eyes, his face even redder. "To say, god…"this is for Schmoopie and the SkinMan.""

Mulder laughed even harder and even Skinner chuckled. The kid was standing there sweating and red as could be. Mulder clapped him on the back and took the pizza from him, handing it to Skinner.

"I'm incredibly sorry you had to do that," Mulder said laughing still. "My.. the woman who ordered it, has a wicked sense of humor sometimes. She wouldn't know who was bringing the pizza and the message was designed to embarrass us, not you. I will tell her she failed miserably and to stick to her day job."

He took his wallet out and handed the kid a twenty. His eyes lit up and he stuttered a thanks as he stepped back to his car. He drove off quick as lightning with Mulder still laughing.

The delivery guys left after him, the items sitting in the living room. Mulder gave them each a generous tip, not needing a drone attack to ever be repeated.

As they drove away, he took out his phone and sent a text to Scully:

"Chair and other items delivered. Thanks for the pizza. Hope it's the best I've ever had, as I had to give the poor, red faced, exceedingly embarrassed, delivery boy a twenty.

Schmoopie and the SkinMan"

He laughed and turned to Skinner. He had set the pizza down on the railing and gone back in to grab two more beers. Mulder grabber the pizza and set it on the table between the two chairs in the corner of the porch.

They had recently purchased all new furniture for the porch. Something better than what they had in the past. The possibility of a porch swing had even been discussed. Mulder had secretly purchased one and he and Skinner had plans to hang it today.

They both sat down and Mulder opened the pizza box. He took a beer from Skinner and grabbed a slice of pizza. Skinner did the same and they ate in silence.

Skinner looked around and then at Mulder.

"This place is exactly the kind of place I could picture the two of you living. After all the shit you two went through, this place just seems..right. It's like your place, but with a mix of Scully's. The location is definitely you. No one around, paranoid as always."

Mulder laughed, but knew Skinner was right. This place was out of the way, but they had still been sought after. Just recently, as Skinner knew. Even after all this time, they had gotten away just as they had practiced in the past.

When they moved into this house, they had run drills on how to get out at any perceivable time and location. Tied up. Handcuffed, separately and together. The way they had responded recently, after years of being apart, made every drill worth it.

Mulder's phone buzzed and he picked it up. Scully had replied:

"God, Schmoopie and the SkinMan sounds like an adult themed superhero duo. I hadn't thought of that until I saw it written down. Thank you for that image in my head, Mulder."

He laughed again and told Skinner what it said. Skinner shuddered and got up, taking the leftover pizza inside.

Muider went to get the porch swing where he had hidden it from Scully. It had arrived a couple of weeks ago and luckily she had been gone when it did. He hid it in his office. He very rarely went in there anymore and she never did so he knew it was safe.

He brought it out to the porch and they began to put it together. With Skinner's tools, especially the drill, and the two of them working quickly, they had it finished in hardly any time. They moved the furniture they had previously been sitting on to the other side of the door, grabbed a step stool, and began to hang the swing.

A lot of swearing, sweating, and yelling took place as they tried to get it hung exactly right and in the right spot. Skinner made sure it was anchored tightly. Finally, it was finished and they stepped back to observe their work.

Moment of truth came when they both sat in it, testing its weight capacity. It barely made a sound and it swung out at exactly the right amount of space. They got up and Mulder went into the house. He grabbed the seat cushion he had purchased to go with it, and some pillows. He added them to the swing and looked at it again.

The swing was dark black wood with a curved back and black chains. The seat cushion was a cream color and the pillows were colorful floral pillows he had seen her looking at in the store when they bought the other furniture. He knew she would love this swing. He could picture her there, rocking the baby, her eyes closed, happy and content.

A hand on his shoulder, stopped the tears which always seemed so close to the surface these days. He was really getting soft in his old age. Middle age could eat a pile of shit.

They decided to bring all the boxes upstairs and have them ready to go once the second coat of paint was done. It was a lot of work but it was the best plan.

The next coat of paint was done quickly and they brought in the first item-the crib. It was bulky and relatively easy to accomplish. Then the bassinet and the changing table.

Mulder tested the walls and found them to be almost dry. He began to take down the tape and plastic drop cloths. He took the paints and all the supplies out, as Skinner continued working on the bookcase and dresser.

Once he was back upstairs, they finished up the last items, before discussing where it should all be set. They both agreed to not have the crib by the window. They decided on the wall to the right of the room, along with the changing table. The dresser would be closest to the door. The rocking chair in the corner to the left of the room, with the long bookcase under the window.

They set to work getting it all arranged. Muider went back downstairs and grabbed the crib mattress and the rug. Next was the hassle of the rocking chair and footstool, but they made it. The bassinet was moved into their room.

They still needed curtains for the window. Everything else though, Mulder would get done on his own, once he came back from dinner with Scully.

"Well, you got about twenty minutes to spare," Skinner said as he packed up his tools.

"Yeah," Muider replied, looking around the room.

They got it all done. All of it. Plus the bonus project of the porch swing. He was anticipating the look on her face when she saw it. This room though..this room made him emotional. Never in all the years they lived here, would using it for a child have crossed his mind.

He may have hoped, but he knew it was a slim hope and not one he had ever expressed to Scully. They had hardly ever discussed William. It had been painful and almost taboo. He wished he had brought it up now, but the past is the past. He had to let it go.

Skinner finished gathering his tools and they headed downstairs. He put the toolbox back in the car and turned to Mulder.

"I can't thank you enough for your help," Mulder said with his hands in his pockets. "For today, but for everything, Skinner. I know we've had times of mistrust and miscommunication, but there was always an underlying reason for it. More often than not, it was for Scully. Her safety and her well being was all I ever cared about. **Is** all I care about."

He looked at Skinner and then away. Looking at the house and all around him, before looking at Skinner again.

"You were there for her when I couldn't be. You cared for her, lent her your strength, remained someone she could count on," he shook his head. "I cannot properly express my gratitude to you for being there for her. She's strong and tough, god knows I know that, but she needed someone. She had you and for that.. I am forever in your debt."

Mulder put out his hand and Skinner looked down in surprise. He grasped it, and pulled Mulder to him in a one armed embrace, patting him roughly on the back.

Mulder saw him discreetly wipe at his eyes as they broke apart and he shut the backseat door. He fumbled with his keys and nodded his head, his eyes downcast. He looked up at Mulder and nodded again.

He opened the car door and got in, rolling down the window.

"I'm happy to help, especially for her. And the baby. Glad we were able to get it all taken care of today," he said looking at the steering wheel, not meeting Mulder's eyes.

Then he turned to him and held his gaze.

"You're a good man, Mulder. A good man. She deserves a man like you, just as much as you deserve her."

He started the car while Mulder tried to swallow past the lump in his throat. Skinner may be a few years older than him, but he felt as if he had been praised by his father. Those words carried more weight than Skinner would ever know.

Mulder stepped back, giving Skinner room to back up. He started to do so and then stopped.

"Hey, Mulder!" he called out.

Mulder walked close to the car, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Why don't you marry that woman? Twenty five years is time enough to get to know a person, don't you think?" Skinner asked in his usual snarky tone.

Mulder smiled and Skinner nodded. He waved and drove away. His taillights disappearing before Mulder turned back toward the house.

I'm working on it, Skinner, he thought. I'm working on it.


	2. Evening at the Hotel

Scully stepped into the hotel room, with the bellhop right behind her. He had insisted on carrying her bag, even though it was not heavy. He was a sweet Southern young man, about mid 20's.

He had told her on the elevator ride up that his mama and his grandma would tan his hide if they knew he had let a pregnant woman carry her own bag. She had laughed and thanked him, touching his arm.

He set the bag down on the bed and asked if she needed anything else. She smiled and said no. She handed him a twenty dollar bill and thanked him for his help, grasping his hand. He stammered that she gave him way too much for a tip. She shook her head and said that his kindness and helpfulness was much appreciated.

He looked at her and thanked her. He told her if she needed anything, he would be happy to help her. She smiled and locked the door behind him as he left.

She leaned against the door and looked around. This was a really nice hotel room. All the furniture was a dark colored wood. The bedcover was cream with beautiful detailing in it. The pillows were fluffy and the whole room smelled wonderful.

She walked into the bathroom and gasped. There was a bathtub big enough for two people. There were jets in the tub and she knew she was going to be using those later. The shower was big and had a seat in it. She smiled at the memory of the shower seat in a hotel in California, so many years ago. She touched her swollen belly. Definitely would **not** be using that tonight.

The sinks were standalone deep bowl sinks, with counters in between. The mirrors were big and the lights able to dim. This was probably the nicest hotel she had ever stayed in before.

Mulder. God, she loved that man. Loved him for the care he took to do all that was needed at home, but also to give her this luxurious night out. He knew just how to get to her. The pampering and spoiling she rarely did for herself, he saw to it for her. He had his faults, but his sweetness and thoughtfulness made up for them in spades.

She walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. She sighed and slipped off her shoes. She fell back on the bed. Oh god, it was comfortable. She turned on her side and then stretched.

She was tired, but the day had actually been fun and not as cringeworthy as she had imagined. Either baby showers had changed since her last one, or someone must have made an effort to not have the embarrassing games she had imagined.

Instead, they had had a nice luncheon, played a couple fun games, chatted and opened presents. In total, there had been about twenty women in attendance. She had received wonderful gifts and had been incredibly grateful for the givers.

She felt a sense of guilt that she had complained to Mulder about going to the party. It was not as bad as she thought. Yes, some of the women were more bubbly than she was used to, but they were kind and attentive to her.

One young woman in particular, Dr. Stevens, Annabelle, had been extremely kind and sweet. She had approached Scully almost shyly. She told her that she had admired her work for years now, but had never had the courage to tell her. The papers Scully had written, the cases she had worked on, were amazing and awe inspiring. She had great respect for her.

Scully had been taken aback, not one to bask in the praise. She had thanked her, but could see that she had more to say. She invited her to sit next to her as they ate, and Annabelle's eyes lit up.

During the meal, she had plagued Scully with questions. She wanted to know what made her decide on her specialty, when she knew she wanted to be a doctor, was it true she also worked at the FBI, how that factored into her work as a doctor, and what her plans were after she had the baby.

Scully looked at her and Annabelle blushed to the roots of her hair. She apologized profusely for asking so many personal questions and looked down at her plate. Scully smiled. She recognized the thirst for knowledge and also the exuberance of youth. Had she ever been **that** young? It seemed so long ago.

Scully had answered her questions and then asked her where she worked at the hospital and about her specialty. Annabelle had become more animated about her own speciality and what she wanted to do in the future.

Scully informed her that she had heard of her work, but had not known the name to go with the face. She said that she was doing wonderful work and to keep continuing with it. She offered her some advice and steps to take to reach her goals for the future.

Annabelle had blinked away tears as she told her how much her words meant to her. Scully smiled. She remembered how words of encouragement had helped her. She was happy to offer advice to fellow doctors. Especially to young women setting out on their path.

Her OB, Doctor Reynolds, Elise, had been invited as well and her friendly face was a welcome sight. She had inquired how she was, an informal checkup so to speak. They had spoken of the upcoming birth and preparations at home. Scully told her about Mulder getting things ready and Skinner coming to help.

Elise and she had laughed at the story of the bookcase losing all the books, thus cementing Mulder's credibility in being able to properly put furniture together. She had brought another picture for Mulder from Raina. This time it was two round people holding stick arms together. Inside one person was a little face, which was "Ms. Dana's baby."

Scully had looked at it and her eyes filled with tears. She dabbed at her eyes as Elise rubbed her shoulder. Elise put the picture in the gift bag she had brought so it would not be misplaced.

After the games, it was time to open gifts. Annabelle had offered to write down all the items so Scully had a list. Much laughter and teasing had occurred while she opened them. She had received many cute outfits, a baby carrier and a baby wrap, supplies, baskets to store items, blankets, and many books.

There were even items for her now and after the arrival of the baby. Bubble bath, a couple bottles of red wine, and a bag of dark roasted fully caffeinated coffee beans which made her salivate and the women laugh and nod in solidarity. She strongly suspected someone got in touch with Mulder about items she liked.

After the party, Annabelle had offered to take the gifts home with her and drop them off the next day when she heard of Scully staying the night in the hotel. She was happy to help and cheerfully loaded up her car.

Elise had suggested they go out for a coffee, and so they had. It was nice and interesting to have someone to talk to besides Mulder. She would take him over them any day, but female companionship was something she was sorely lacking. She had enjoyed the couple hours she had spent with Elise.

She was funny, smart, sarcastic, and had a great sense of humor. They had a fun time discussing patients who had been tough, or who had really touched their lives. Scully was pleased to find they had so much in common. She was glad they had the chance to bond a little more before the baby was born.

She had left shortly after their coffee and arrived at the hotel. She stood up and found her phone in her bag. It was 4:00 now. Three and a half hours before she had to be downstairs to meet Mulder for dinner. Maybe she had time to squeeze in a quick nap and then a soak in that wonderful tub.

She set the alarm for 5:30, took off everything but her underwear and bra, slipped under the covers into the softest sheets ever, and was asleep in minutes.

It felt as though she had barely closed her eyes when her alarm began blaring. She groaned and hit snooze. After the second time hitting the button, she knew she needed to get up.

She stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the bathtub water. When the temperature was right, she plugged it up and waited for it to fill. She used the toilet, her eyes closed and head down, still tired. The baby suddenly gave her a swift quick and she gasped, her eyes flying open.

"Jesus, little one," she said softly, rubbing where the baby had kicked. "Try not to kick so hard."

She stood up and took off her under things. Walking toward the tub, she caught her reflection and walked closer to the mirror. She stared at her stomach, at the way it was stretching to accommodate the growing life inside her.

She marveled at the amazement of the reproduction process. How a single sperm and egg begins the process that creates a human life. How something microscopic could find the other, band together, and develop into an actual person. Two halves becoming whole.

She rubbed her stomach, the love for this child filling her heart. She closed her eyes, thinking of her other child out alone in the world. She hoped he had found people to help him on his journey. Praying one day that journey would bring him back to her. To Mulder. She wanted to hold him again and see for herself that he was okay.

She opened her eyes and turned to the tub. It was almost full. She saw different types of bubble bath and oils on the edge of the tub she had not noticed before. She looked at them and decided on a lavender scented oil. She added some to the bath and breathed in the scent. She felt relaxed already.

She turned the water off, put her hair up, and climbed in the tub. Oh.. it was wonderful. The tub was so deep, she could almost float around in it. She leaned back and let the lavender scent and warmth of the water soothe her.

The baby rolled and swirled in her stomach. The water seeming to propel her moving like a little fish. She smiled as she watched the movements. She remembered when she was pregnant with William how he would do the same thing. Rolling all around inside her, as she lay in the tub.

He had loved the bath when he was a baby, too. Always splashing and smiling when she put him in water. She closed her eyes as she tried not to cry. She had so few memories of his childhood and the ones she had were so precious.

She found herself wondering about his love of water. Did he always like it? Did he enjoy swimming? The exhilarating feeling of jumping in a cold pool on a hot day?

She could not stop the tears. She no longer felt the guilt, but she still felt the sadness. She and Mulder had been robbed of loving their son, being his parents, being a family. She sobbed for all they had missed, all they would have had.

The baby moved around again and all of a sudden, she saw a vision of the sea. She could almost feel the wind and smell the salty air. She gasped and her heart started pounding. She knew this was Jackson. Knew he was trying to contact her. She slowed her crying, closed her eyes, and paid attention.

She saw the sand and the rocks, as if seeing it through his eyes. The water was getting closer, the setting sun shining off of it. She saw feet, toes in the water, as the waves approached and receded from the shore. Then ankles were covered with the water, sand squishing between the toes. The water was still, the ripples stopped, when she saw a face reflected in the water. Jackson was grinning at her. He put up two fingers- a peace sign. He nodded and then the vision was gone.

She opened her eyes and cried through her laughter. He was okay. He was somewhere by the sea and he wanted her to know.

Since the night he had come to her months ago, she had not had any visions. She thought he must be learning to control his abilities and it seemed that he had. He figured out how to tap into her emotions when she was thinking of him, needing assurance that he was okay. She cried and cried. Happy tears falling without stopping. He was all right and by the water. He must still love it.

She took deep breaths and turned on the tub jets. She let the bubbles swirl around her as she rubbed her stomach, making a promise to this child. No one would hurt her, or try to take her away from them. There were two of them now and they were stronger together. No harm would come to her.

She reaffirmed a promise to Jackson too, hoping he could still feel her. She would be there for him, **they** would be there for him, whenever he needed them. The house and they were always waiting for him to come to them, when he was ready.

She wiped her face and let the bubbles relax her for a little longer. She needed to get out soon. She turned the jets off and the silence was welcomed to calm her worries and center her.

She got out of the tub, pulled the plug, and dried off with the fluffy white towel folded by the tub. She put on the robe that was hanging on the back of the door and went into the bedroom.

She had a new dress for this evening, one Mulder had not yet seen. She bought it when she bought the one for the baby shower. She took it out of her bag and hung it up.

It was a deep plum color, with a dark indigo satin piping criss crossed across the chest. A matching satin sash tied around the high waist and ran the length of the dress, which fell just past her knees. The sleeves were three quarter and fitted. She had loved it before she even tried it on.

She bought new underwear too, lacy plum colored ones and a bra that matched. She planned on enticing Mulder to walk her back up to her room and she wanted to be ready..for anything.

She took off her robe and put on her lotion. She slid on her underwear and bra and walked in the bathroom with her makeup bag. She put on her makeup a little bit differently tonight. Made her eyes a bit darker with more eyeliner and mascara than usual. She had a new purple eyeshadow that matched her dress which she applied carefully, not wanting to overdo it.

She put on lipstick in a shade she had not worn in a long time. She let her hair down, and it fell in loose waves. God bless those pregnancy hormones and prenatal vitamins. Her hair was fuller than it ever had been before.

Her phone began ringing from the other room. She walked out and saw it was Mulder caling.

"Hello?" she said with a smile.

"Scully? Can you hear me?" he shouted, causing her to pull the phone away from her ear.

"Yes, Mulder I can hear you," she said sitting on the bed.

"Scully? Hello?" he shouted again.

"Mulder! I can hear you!" she shouted back, trying not to laugh.

"This fucking thing," she heard him mutter. "This Bluetooth, Scully. It never connects right. Hello?"

She put her hand over her mouth and shook her head. He always had a problem with his phone connecting to the Bluetooth in the car. She had received many frantic, expletive filled, phone calls from him. He almost always gave up and put his headphones on, cursing all the while.

When she would come home, she would show him **again** how to connect it and he would claim he had done all that but it did not work. She would easily connect his and he would stand there, shaking his head and cursing. Sounded like she would need to give him another lesson.

"Hello?" he shouted again. "Scully, I fucking give up. I don't have my headphones with me, so hopefully **you** can hear **me**. I'm on my way. I'll meet you at the restaurant at 7:30. Scully? Shit! I hate this thing! Just fucking connect!" he screamed.

And then the phone hung up. She sat there and laughed at how inept he was at simple things but could phreak a phone to find information. She had to love that man.

She waited, but he did not call back. She got up and picked up her dress. She took it off the hanger and slipped it on. Oh.. she loved the color and was pleased with how good she looked. Pregnant stomach and all.

She slid her shoes on, looked at her reflection one more time, then glanced at her phone. Ten minutes. Well, it would take her a few minutes to get downstairs. She also wanted to be already seated when he walked into the restaurant. She wanted to see his face when he saw her in this dress. See his wide eyes of surprise changing to desire. It never failed to arouse her.

She put her keycard in her bra and left her phone behind. She would not need anything else and when they arrived at the door later and he watched her take the key out of her bra.. she knew he would be staying for a little while. Yes, she knew what she was doing.

As she arrived at the restaurant, she noticed there was a wedding reception in the large room next door. She could hear a band playing and she smiled. She silently wished the couple a lifetime of happiness.

She walked up to the restaurant hostess and gave her name. She was seated right away, with the eyes of the hostess on her stomach. Scully laughed quietly at her attempt to be nonchalant about it, but failing miserably. The hostess caught her eye and blushed as she walked away. Scully just laughed again.

She sat facing the front of the restaurant and waited. The waiter approached and she ordered some bubbly water for her and a beer for Mulder.

She saw Mulder walking up a couple minutes later out of the corner of her eye. She kept facing away until she knew he had spoken to the hostess. When she saw him looking for her, she stared straight at him.

She saw the face when he saw her, the exact one she had been hoping for. His eyes widened and his surprised gaze traveled down what he could see. His eyes had became desirous on the return trip to her face. Oh yeah, she still had it. Scoot in her boot and all that.

She saw him wave the hostess away and point to her. He walked over and his eyes burned into her. She stood up and he stopped walking, eyes roaming over her body. The waiter arrived and her attention was momentarily diverted as he set their drinks down.

Mulder made it to her side as the waiter backed away. He placed a hand on her hip and brushed his lips against her cheek, then moved to her ear.

"Jesus Christ, Scully. Do you have any idea how gorgeous you look right now?" he whispered, his fingers on her hip curling in and pulling at her.

"I have some idea," she impishly replied as he stood back and stared at her.

His gaze traveled from her face, to her breasts, her legs, and stopped at her breasts again, before looking in her eyes.

"We should have just ordered room service. My god.." he said, shaking his head.

"You don't look so bad yourself, Mulder," she said letting her eyes travel over his tall frame.

He had on dark jeans and a white shirt under a black sweater she loved. He smelled amazing and she almost suggested they head upstairs. But she had made the effort to get dressed and made up. She wanted to have a nice night out with him. She did not know how many of those they had left before the baby arrived.

He shook his head and stepped back from her. He held her chair as she sat back down before taking his seat across from her. He shook his head again, as she smiled at him.

"Seriously, Scully. They need to retire that dress and let it forever be known as the "Dana Scully dress." No one would ever or could ever hope to look as beautiful as you when they wear it. No one should even bother trying." he said, his eyes dark, his face serious.

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Mulder, but it will not feed the hungry child inside me. So let's figure out what we're going to have for dinner and then you can keep those compliments coming," she said raising her eyebrows and reaching for her menu.

He laughed and reached for his as well. She grazed his leg with her foot and he looked at her. She smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He nodded and smiled back at her. They were quiet as they studied the menu. The waiter came up again and told them of the specials. He described a pasta with creamy tomato sauce, that made Scully's stomach growl. She asked for that and set her menu down, looking at Mulder. He ordered a steak and potatoes, a side of fries, and a bowl of French onion soup.

The waiter looked at him, but said nothing. He left the table, taking their menus, and Scully looked at Mulder.

"Potatoes **and** fries, Mulder?" she asked him, raising her eyebrows.

"Stop. The fries are for you. You know you want them and you have been craving them as long as the grilled cheese sandwiches. You won't ever order them, but you always want them," he said, looking at her pointedly.

He was right, and she could not argue that he was not. She had craved the oddest things. Grilled cheese sandwiches, green olives, French fries, and grape juice. God, thinking about the tart taste of the grape juice, made her mouth water. Jesus, it sounded so good.

"You want me to see if they have grape juice?" he asked with a smirk as he watched her smack her lips.

She stared at him as if his question was preposterous. But the thought of drinking that grape juice made her change her look to pleadingly. He smiled and nodded as he got up from the table.

Oh, she **needed** that grape juice. She watched him talk to the waiter and he shook his head. Her heart sank and she felt incredibly silly for feeling so needy for something so small.

Mulder was gone from her sight for awhile and she felt so embarrassed that he must have left the restaurant searching for grape juice. No way he would find it, if the restaurant did not have any. Where would he even look in this hotel?

She looked around again and he came walking past the hostess stand. His hands were empty and she felt strangely like she was going to break down in tears. God damn..this was so embarrassing.

He walked up to the table and stood there.

"Sit down. Please," she said quietly begging him, reaching for his hand.

"Wait," he said, reaching behind him and pulling out a small bottle of fancy grape juice, apparently from his waistband, and setting it on the table.

"What?!" she exclaimed, grabbing for it.

"The wedding next door," he explained, laughing as he sat down. "I figured someone over there had to want something nonalcoholic. Turns out, kids do, Scully. Who knew huh?" He smiled at her.

He took the bottle from her and opened it up. She drank her bubbly water down in three big gulps and handed him her glass. He chuckled as he poured it in and she grabbed it back.

The first sip of it hit her tongue and her eyes rolled back in her head. At that moment, someone would have had a hard time convincing her that sex was better than taking a drink of a liquid she craved so much. She drank it down in a few gulps and she sat back, fully satisfied, and no longer caring who thought what about her.

"Good?" Mulder asked her, a laughing smile on his face.

She got up out of her chair and leaned down and kissed him. Then again. Her tongue lightly grazing his.

"Ahem.." a voice said, to her right side.

The waiter was standing there with the plate of fries and the salad that came with her meal. She stood up and went back to her seat, grabbing the bottle on her way.

She poured another glassful and kept her eyes on Mulder. He was watching her, stuck between desire and trying not to laugh. The waiter set her plate of salad down in front of her and put the fries in the middle of the table.

"Thank you," Mulder said, his eyes never leaving Scully's.

The waiter left. They both smiled and then started laughing. He grabbed a couple fries and she took a small drink before starting on her salad.

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully. They discussed what they had done that day and what the plan was for tomorrow. Scully told him about Annabelle bringing the gifts by tomorrow. She needed to come by at 9:00, before mass with her family. Mulder said he would be there and not to worry about it.

After they ate, and Scully finished the bottle of grape juice, the waiter asked if they wanted dessert. Scully declined and Mulder did as well. Mulder paid the bill and they left the restaurant.

As they walked out, they heard the band playing a fast number and laughter coming from inside the wedding reception.

"You want to go crash a wedding, Scully?" Mulder asked her mischievously, taking her hand and tugging her toward the door.

"No!" she said, pulling on his hand.

"It's bad enough you somehow pilfered that bottle of grape juice. I mean, you know what that meant to me, but still. We can't walk into someone's wedding reception. Also, I'm not exactly inconspicuous here," she added, motioning to her stomach.

"You look good. Better than good," he told her, stroking her cheek. "But you're right, Scully. It's probably good we don't head in there. All the attention would be on you and the bride would feel jealous. Best not to do that on her big day."

"Mulder.." she said, but she could not stop her smile.

"And Scully, I didn't pilfer the grape juice. I simply explained to a waiter that I had a very pregnant woman waiting for me and she **needed** grape juice. He said his wife just had a baby recently so he understood. Then he got it for me," he told her, shrugging his shoulder.

His fingers moved to her hair, holding it as he stroked it down over her shoulder. They stared at one another before they both turned when they heard a slower song start. It was not the wedding band, but prerecorded music, but not a song she recognized.

Mulder extended his hand and she smiled as she took it. He pulled her close and they began to sway slowly. She took a deep breath and breathed in his scent. The aftershave he wore, but the Mulder scent she would recognize anywhere. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his embrace.

 _Oh, I always let you down  
You're shattered on the ground  
But still I find you there  
Next to me  
And oh, stupid things I do  
I'm far from good, it's true  
But still I find you  
Next to me _

She missed the beginning of the song, but the chorus hit her square in the chest. It was as if someone was describing their life. No matter what happened, always next to each other. She listened to the next part of the song more carefully.

 _There's something about the way that you always see the pretty view  
Overlook the blooded mess, always lookin' effortless  
And still you, still you want me  
I got no innocence, faith ain't no privilege  
I am a deck of cards, vice or a game of hearts  
And still you, still you want me_

She felt Mulder tighten his grip on her and she knew he too was listening to the words.

 _Oh, I always let you down  
You're shattered on the ground  
But still I find you there  
Next to me  
And oh, stupid things I do  
I'm far from good, it's true  
But still I find you  
Next to me_

He pulled back and looked at her. He held her face, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. They stared at each other. The words of the song seeming to speak directly to them.

 _So thank you for taking a chance on me  
I know it isn't easy  
But I hope to be worth it _

Mulder leaned his forehead to hers, his hands sliding down her arms and onto her waist. They stood, swaying slightly to the music, holding onto one another. Speaking the best way they did, with no words. Relying on touch and looks to relay how they felt.

 _So thank you for taking a chance on me  
I know it isn't easy  
But I hope to be worth it _

_Oh, I always let you down_

 _You're shattered on the ground_

 _But still I find you there  
Next to me  
And oh, stupid things I do _

_I'm far from good, it's true  
But still I find you  
Next to me _

As the song ended and a new one began, he pulled her tighter and whispered his love for her. His thanks, his appreciation, and his apologies. She leaned back and held his face in her hands.

"No more apologies, Mulder. Forgiveness has been granted. I love you. So much," she said quietly before she kissed him.

He pulled her close and held her to him. The new song was faster, but still they held each other and swayed slowly.

"Could I possibly interest you in walking me upstairs? Maybe ordering some dessert from room service?" she mumbled into his chest.

He laughed and pulled back. He stared at her, touching her cheek again.

"I don't need any dessert, but I would **definitely** be interested in seeing you safely to your room. Making sure you make it to bed without any trouble. Or.. maybe a little trouble," he said raising his eyebrows and winking at her.

"You chose wisely," she said, grabbing his hand and walking to the elevators. He laughed behind her. "I've got something for you to see when we get upstairs."

She stopped at the bank of elevators and pushed the up button and turned to him. She leaned in and he bent his head toward her.

"Not to completely spoil the surprise, but it's something under my dress," she whispered in his ear.

He gave a sharp intake of breath, straightening up as the elevator doors opened. He quickly escorted her inside, pushed her against the wall, and began kissing her as the doors closed behind them. The music from the wedding reception fell silent, his love for her the only music she needed to hear.


	3. Discussions and Discoveries

Mulder watched Scully taking her room key out of her bra and he had a hard time not pressing her against the door.

"Do you need any help?" he asked her hopefully.

She laughed and finally found the key. She put it in and pushed the door open. As soon as they were in the room, he did push her against the door, kissing her thoroughly. Her fingernails scratched into the back of his neck and he moaned into her mouth.

He pulled her hips toward his, her stomach bumping into him, making her laugh and pull back from him. He smiled at her, placing his hands on her stomach, which he knelt down and kissed.

He slid his hands to the backs of her legs and then up her body, bringing her dress with it. It got stuck on her stomach and they both laughed. She lifted her arms and the dress came over head and off her body.

He held it in his hands, knowing it was new and remembering how gorgeous she looked in it. He saw her underwear and bra and he groaned. Same color as the dress, lacy, and see through. He could see her nipples through her bra and he hummed his appreciation.

He held her dress and grabbed her hand. He pulled her toward the bed and laid the dress across a chair. He turned and stared at her in her underwear, her body ripe with his child and he felt himself grow hard. She was so beautiful, it made him ache.

"Get in the bed," he said to her.

He saw her swallow and she moved to the bed. He quickly removed his shoes and his clothes. He moved to the bed too and took the big pillows off. He pulled the blankets back and they laid down facing each other.

He ran his fingers up her thigh to her hip. stopping at her underwear.

"I like these," he said running his fingers over the lace. "You planned this whole evening, down to the matching underwear."

She stared at him and smiled. Her eyes dancing.

"Well, if I had to be pushed out of my home, might as well make the most of it. And I know how much you enjoy the fancy underwear," she said, touching his arm, her fingernails trailing lightly.

"Hmm," he hummed in response.

He leaned in and kissed her, pulling her to him. He pulled her underwear down and off, then shifted around in the bed. She let him move her how he wanted and then she pulled his mouth to hers.

Side by side, facing one another, eyes locked to the other, they began the slow dance of love. Moans, sighs, and gasps were punctuated by kisses and words whispered. They fell over the edge together and worked to catch their breath when they were finished.

Scully moved around and lay on her back, her head on his stomach, sideways in the bed. He had his hand on her stomach as she held it, their fingers locking and unlocking. He had his other hand behind his head and his eyes closed.

"This bed is so comfortable," she said, breaking the silence. "We should see about getting one like it."

"Hmm. Yeah, it's very comfortable," he said. "The company adds to the comfort, too."

She chuckled softly. She squeezed his fingers and then sighed.

"God, I'm really going to miss these pregnancy boobs," she said letting go of his hand and touching her breasts.

She still had her bra on and he found it highly arousing. It was erotic to see her breasts and nipples through the lace. A forbidden item held away from his direct touch, but a feast for his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm going to miss them too," he said, his hand joining hers, lightly palming her breast, pinching her nipple.

She laughed, holding his hand there. She sighed again.

"What is it?" he asked, looking at her, watching her hand holding his to her breast. Highly erotic, he thought, his thumb stroking across her skin.

"One more month," she said, exhaling loudly. "Things are going to be so different, Mulder. We've never been here before. Not together anyway, not really. We are going to have some rough days and nights ahead of us. I want to apologize in advance for snapping at you, telling you to get out of my face, shushing you when I **know** you're not being too loud."

He laughed and moved his hand back to her stomach. He rubbed his hand up and down and sighed.

"I wouldn't change this life and this adventure we're about to embark on for all the rough nights ahead. I can't wait to see this child we've created. See if she looks like you. Hopefully she has red hair. I would be absolutely ecstatic if she did," he said as he watched his hand float across her taut stomach.

"If I'm wrong, and it's a boy, will you be disappointed?" she asked him quietly.

"No," he said firmly, leaving no need for further discussion.

"I've been thinking about names," she said, covering his hand with hers, moving it in hopes he could feel the movements in her stomach.

"We still haven't decided on anything. But, Mulder," she shifted around onto her side, so she could face him. "I don't.. I don't want a family name. Not another Melissa, or Samantha. I want this baby to have her own identity. Those names carry more weight than what may have been intended. I don't want that this time."

She held his gaze, her eyes beseeching him to understand her. He stroked a hand down her face, then threaded his fingers in her hair. He nodded and smiled at her.

She let out a breath and he realized she must have been more worried than she let on.

"Scully, I understand," he said softly. "I don't want to place an unnecessary burden on the child or create a sadness within us with the name. I understand."

She smiled at him. She turned her head and kissed his wrist.

"So what name are you thinking?" he asked her, smiling at her.

"I'll know it when I see her face. I want to wait and give her the name she deserves, not something we've chosen beforehand prior to meeting her. I'll know it then, I know I will," she said seriously.

He nodded and stroked her face again.

She shifted around, placed her head on his stomach, lying on her back again.

"May I make one request?" he asked as he ran his fingers through her hair, his other hand on her stomach again.

"Sure. Whadda you got?" she questioned with a laugh.

"I want the middle name to be Katherine. I want that to be something the two of you share," he said softly.

She took his hand from her stomach and kissed his palm. She nodded as he heard her take a shuddering breath.

They were quiet for awhile and he thought she might have gone to sleep.

"Scully?"

"Hmmm?" she answered sleepily.

"I have to get home soon," he said quietly. "There are still things I need to do, before you get home tomorrow."

She sighed and moved his hand. She moved until she had her head on his shoulder, arm across his waist, leg hooked over his.

"Five more minutes," she breathed out. "Maybe ten, okay?"

He laughed softly and wrapped his arms around her.

"Ten minutes," he agreed.

He lay there, listening to her breathing and stroked her hair. He knew she would be asleep soon, she was tired more these days as her pregnancy progressed. He would slip out once she was asleep. He still had quite a bit to do and he needed all the time he could get.

She relaxed against him more heavily and he knew she was out. He smiled, thinking of stakeouts, car rides, hotel rooms they had been forced to share, and plane rides. Anytime she fell asleep against him, she would have a moment where she became heavier. Her body losing the battle to stay awake or attempt to stay off of him.

He waited a minute, then slowly untangled himself from her and got out of bed. He watched her and smiled. He brushed her hair back and then grabbed a pillow from the floor. He put it next to her, raising her arm over it so she had something to cuddle into. She pulled it close in her sleep and he smiled again.

He bent and kissed her temple before gathering his clothes. He took them in the bathroom, used the toilet, and got dressed. He sat on the edge of the tub and put on his shoes. He glanced at the tub and smiled imagining her taking full advantage of a tub that size. He could smell lavender and he knew without a doubt, that she had had one bath already.

He came out of the bathroom and saw she had not moved. He kissed her again, whispered he loved her, and walked out the door, his list of chores already presenting itself to him.

He drove home with the windows down. It was still warm out and the air felt good. He had the radio on and he hummed along to the music.

Pulling up to the house, he smiled at the sight of the porch swing. It was truly going to be a most welcome surprise. He walked up the stairs and into the house. He looked around as he dropped his keys and wallet on the coffee table.

He took off his shoes and his sweater. Looking at the clock he saw it was close to midnight. He knew it would be a late night, but it would be worth it.

He gathered all the stuffed animals they bought and brought them upstairs. He put them in the rocking chair and went back downstairs.

Everything they had purchased had been piled in the living room. There had been no need to move it twice, so they had left it there until the room was ready. He sat down and began to take the clothes they bought off hangers. He removed tags and stickers, creating a pile of items. Little baby clothes, blankets, sheets, towels, and washcloths all went into the pile.

When he was done, he scooped it all up, stood up and grabbed the all natural, chemical free laundry soap Scully had spent time researching. He put it all in the washing machine, added the soap, and turned it on. Thirty minutes and he would put it in the dryer.

He went back upstairs, stripped and changed their bed. He gathered their laundry, added the sheets, then the towels from the bathroom. He replaced those and headed back downstairs. He put the laundry basket in front of the machine and went into the kitchen.

He put all the dishes in the sink, cleaned off the kitchen table, checked the living room for any other dishes, adding some glasses to the sink. He picked up the tags and hangers he had removed and put them in the trash can. He stacked up his papers on his desk. Then he had an idea.

He walked into what used to be his office and looked around. It was time. Time to move his desk back in there. Time to put his past obsessions away and make room for a better use of his time and attention.

When Scully was gone, he had taken over the house. Seemed to spill into every crevice, taking over to prove a point. He did it one night in anger and felt sadness immediately after.

More than the anger, he did it to not feel so alone and closed off in his little office. He had thought it would help him feel better, moving his stuff into the middle of the living room, but it had not. He was then alone in a large area, unable to feel small and closed off, as sunlight streamed in the room.

Eventually, it became routine to him, became normal. But he did not need it there anymore. He was no longer alone. The house was not quiet and sad. He needed to make a change.

He started cleaning up, putting things away and making room for his desk. He would go through it all one day, but right now, he simply needed to clear a space.

Once there was enough room, he first checked on the laundry. He moved the stuff to the dryer, and started the next load of sheets and towels.

He walked into the living room and cleaned off his desk. He took out the drawers and moved the desk back into the room. He carried the drawers in and put them back in the desk. He brought in all the items from his desk and put them back. Papers were stacked up, the desk chair brought inside.

He looked around the living room. Much better. Now the room was open again. He turned and looked at the walls. The clutter had diminished greatly. They had been working on clearing up in the last few weeks. Years of papers, books, and files had begun to clutter up the house. He did not mind it, but he knew Scully did.

He grabbed books off the stairs, piling them on his desk, onto other surfaces in the office, and then onto the floor when he ran out of room. He made a mental note to go to Ikea again and get a bookshelf, maybe two. He would even put them together himself and prove to Scully and himself that he could.

Once the stairs were cleared, he checked on the laundry again. The clothes were dry and he pulled them out, dropping them into the laundry basket. He transferred the sheets and started their clothes. He brought the laundry basket into the living room and set it on the couch.

He went into the kitchen, washed the dishes, and wiped off the counters. He set up the coffee for the next morning and then grabbed the vacuum. He vacuumed the rooms, especially the rug where the desk had sat, and then left it by the stairs to take up later.

He opened the coat closet and grabbed the bag inside with the frames and other items he had purchased a few days ago. He had a shadow box which he planned to use to display the rocks from the beach he had found so many years ago.

As he walked back toward the couch, his gaze landed on the box Scully had mentioned earlier. The box from her mother's house. He sighed as he imagined what could be in it. The one with "Mulder Family" on the envelope at the top. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

He walked over to the couch and set the bag of frames down next to the laundry basket. He really did not want to do this, but he knew it was needed. He walked over to the box and picked it up. He set it on the coffee table and opened it.

Sure enough, there was an old manilla envelope on top, "Mulder Family" written on top. It was from the lawyer's office that handled his parents' estates. He knew what was in that envelope. He set it aside and kept going. A couple more photo albums, his parents when they were younger, then him and Samantha.

He stared at a picture of him and Samantha, deciding if he wanted to add the photo to the ones for the babies room. He shook his head and decided against it. He would keep the albums intact and show them to the baby when she was older. He set them aside to add to the office collection of things.

More papers from his past were next. He glanced at them, but then set them aside. He saw the corner of something that caught his eye and he smiled. He reached in the box and pulled out a picture frame containing a photo he had not seen in years.

They had this picture in their basement office, one he had stolen from evidence years ago. He had taken it and Scully had framed it. "Team Spooky" was written on the back of the frame by Scully. He smiled at the memory and set it aside to clean and reframe.

There were more envelopes of papers and he emptied the box out. He sighed again as he began to look through one of the envelopes. He saw it was old papers from his parents house. Loose photographs, recipes his mother kept, and news articles. He set that one down and moved onto the next one.

More papers from his parents place, but in the stack of papers he saw something that made him catch his breath. It was a drawing, something he had not seen in many years. It was of a young girl in a silver dress, eyes as blue as a tropical sea, a beautiful smile, long red hair, black boots, and a sword in the belt on her hip.

Evaline. It was Evaline the Brave. The woman his father had invented to comfort Samantha when she had nightmares. This was a picture his mother had drawn, he recognized it. Samantha had it hanging on her door, letting Evaline know she knew who she was and to welcome her.

Mulder ran his fingers over the drawing. His mother's hand had drawn on this paper. He looked at all the lines, the details, the colors and blending used. He tried not to cry, but he felt tears in his eyes. He missed his mother. They did not have a close relationship, but she was still his mother. So much of his life was a mystery, and she had been the last one that held the key to answers.

He shook his head, wiped his eyes, and added the drawing to the picture of him and Scully. He would frame it and put it up in the baby's room. He turned back to the other papers.

Random items and then a loose paper slipped out. He caught it as it did and he looked at it. He could not stop the tears this time.

Here was the drawing Samantha had done. Her attempt at drawing Evaline. Her head was big, her arms long, the sword huge on her hip. The red hair was scraggly and wild, her eyes huge and blue. On the bottom of the paper she had written her name and her age- "Samantha, 6 and a have."

He laughed through his tears at her incorrect spelling. Six and a half and she had drawn the best she could, before it had led to tears and their mother drawing the other picture. He put Samantha's drawing with the other items. He touched it again and wiped his face.

No other treasures were discovered, simply more items he was not sure why they were saved. He gathered up the papers and put them in his office. He found a knife and cut the label Mrs. Scully had put on the box- "Dana and Fox." He had saved them all as the boxes were emptied. Not sure what he would do with them, but unable to part with her handwriting.

He threw the rest of the box away and checked on the next load of laundry. It was ready. He took out the sheets and towels, added them to the laundry basket, and put the last load in the dryer. He hung the items Scully did not dry, then headed into the living room.

He grabbed the lights they had purchased at Ikea and added them to the laundry basket. He picked up his phone and began searching through his pictures. He had taken some of the two of them recently.

They had been sitting on the porch and she was laughing at something he said. He had grabbed his phone and taken a few pictures of her. She demanded to see them and she got up to take his phone from him. He kept it out of her grasp and she ended up on his lap. He turned the camera around and took some selfies of them.

Selfies. He rolled his eyes at the word. It was an annoying word but did not stop him from taking them when he could. They did not have many pictures of them from the past and he wished they did now. **He** remembered and knew the past, but he wished there were pictures for the baby.

He looked through the pictures and found two he liked best. In one, she was looking at the camera and so was he. The other he still was, but her eyes had shifted to him. He saw such love in her eyes, it took his breath away. To be loved that much made his heart ache.

He selected the photos of them and the one of her he liked best and sent them to the printer. He had purchased a photo printer awhile back. Mostly it was to print out pictures of new sightings of Bigfoot or UFO's, but this was a better use for it. He waited to hear them start printing and then took the frames to the kitchen table.

He opened them up, took out the glass and cleaned them. He miraculously happened to buy just the right amount of frames to include the drawings he found tonight. He had enough for them and the three he was printing.

He glanced at the clock. Just rounding past 2:00 am. These things, then it was time for bed. It had been a long day. He slid the drawing his mother drew and the one of Samantha's in the frames. He put on the backs and turned them over. He smiled, happy these would be added to their history.

He got up and grabbed the photos from the printer. He smiled again, staring at Scully's face. She was so beautiful. Had always been, but these days.. she seemed to become more beautiful every day.

He took the photos to the table, trimmed them and put them in the frames. Two would sit on the dresser and the one of the two of them smiling would hang above the changing table. Something for the baby to look at while they changed her. Their happy faces watching over her.

He added the frames to the laundry basket, picked it up, and headed upstairs. He set the frames down, put the lights on the dresser, and took the laundry basket into their bedroom.

He dumped out the laundry and began to fold everything. When he got to the baby's things, he shook his head. Such tiny items. Little onesies, pajamas, shirts, pants, socks, and little hats. Soft blankets, decorative sheets, towels, and washcloths. What a difference from anything he had planned or imagined for their future.

He took the clothes in and put them in the dresser. He put the mattress protector pad on and then the sheet Scully had purchased and presented to him a few days ago. Light blue with spaceships and aliens on it. She had smiled and rolled her eyes.

He hung a blanket on the rail of the bed and then unboxed the lights. He plugged them in, grabbed the boxes, grabbed the baggie with the rocks from their dresser and headed downstairs. He threw out the light boxes, opened the cupboard and pulled out the box of lightbulbs they had purchased. He put it on the table and then opened the shadow box frame.

He took the rocks and prize ticket out of the plastic baggie. He reached in the store bag and took out the cardstock papers and sticky tape he bought. He layered out the different colors he picked- black, white, and red.

He measured out the papers to overlap inside the frame. First the black, then the white, then the red. Each color slightly smaller. The red he debated making a heart, but then he decided to have the only hearts be the rocks.

He taped the colored papers together. Then he traced over his message on the prize ticket, making it darker and clearer. He stuck the ticket in the middle of the red paper. Everything was precise and he smiled at his work. He picked up the rocks next.

He placed them next to each other, with space in between to show the prize ticket. He stuck them down and made sure they were on correctly. He looked at the final result and grinned. It was perfect.

He closed up the frame and looked at it again. So much was held in the space between those two rocks. It was a simple project he had created, but the meaning was not. The darkness overshadowed by the light, the light leading to love. Her love truly was his prize.

He found the container of nails and the hammer. He picked up the shadow box, the pack of lightbulbs, and grabbed the vacuum.

He went upstairs, set the vacuum down, and went into the baby's room. He hung up the picture of them over the changing table. He set the shadow box on the bookcase, facing the door. He wanted it to be the first thing he saw when she entered the room.

Opposite the crib, next to the rocking chair, he hung up the drawings from his mother and sister. His mother's higher, Samantha's a little lower. He put the two pictures on the dresser. The one of just Scully and the one of her staring at him.

He put the lightbulbs in the lamps, turned them on, and turned off the overhead light. The room looked warm and inviting. A complete difference from the start of the long day.

Mulder stood in the room for a few minutes. The past presenting itself to him. From the time he was young, he felt disconnected from his family. Always there was yelling, secrets, worries, especially after Samantha was gone. It had led to distant relationships with his parents.

He had always wanted to please them, to be seen as a good son. Even settle for good enough. But he never quite measured up, something was always lacking.

Trying to find acceptance and love had led him into two disastrous relationships with women. They destroyed his trust. Took it and laughed while he was bleeding. Left him, not caring that he was gasping for air.

Scully was exactly who he needed and never expected. She was the balm and oxygen he needed to heal his broken heart, his very soul. She listened to him on their first case and she did not laugh. She expressed concern and caring. She offered her trust and never betrayed his own. She stood by him and up for him. She fought with and for him. She loved him and believed in him more than any person he had ever known.

She left him because he needed to get his head out of his ass, not because she hated him. Not because she took pleasure in his pain, but because his darkness was swallowing them and she could not breathe. His obsession became her nightmare and he offered no solace. She did not delight in their separation, it broke her heart. **He** broke her heart.

He began to cry, not from pain or sorrow, but happiness. They had figured it out and gotten past the shit that weighed them down, threatening to choke them. Trudging through and making his way back to her, earning her trust again, being loved the way he had wanted his entire life, **that** was his goal, his drive. He had achieved that goal and gotten her back with patience and caring. Christ, he was standing in the room that would soon hold his child, his **second** child.

He made a promise to the baby, standing in the room that he and Skinner had prepared. The items he and Scully had picked and purchased, up and ready to welcome the baby. The room already held so much love within it, but he promised more. Nothing would happen to her, he would see to that. She would be protected and loved as long as there was breath in his body.

She was a miracle in a world full of hard times and moments of despair. She was a small light adding to the ones already lit, ready to answer the call when her light would need to shine. He knew, with Scully as her mother, she would shine brighter than the sun.

He wiped his eyes and turned the lights off in the room. He took a deep breath and walked out. He left the door open, the wind blowing lightly in from the window, taking all the remaining smell of paint out of the house.

He walked into their room, stripped, and took another quick shower. He dried off, put on some boxers, and climbed in bed. He set the alarm for 7:30. He wanted to double check everything was done before Scully's friend came by to drop off the shower gifts. If there were any other things he needed to get, he wanted there to be enough time.

He closed his eyes, his mind running through lists and plans. Scully was right, they had one more month before they would be living a completely different life. It might have worried someone else, but he was excited to see where this new path would lead them. With Scully by his side, he could handle anything.

He reached over and grabbed her pillow. It was a poor substitute, but it would do for tonight. He took a deep breath, willing his mind to slow down. Holding her pillow, thinking of all he had done, and how much he was looking forward to, he fell asleep.

He dreamed of a girl with auburn hair and hazel blue eyes who wanted to hold the world in her hands. Who climbed trees to reach the sky. Who jumped, without fear, into a new world. He held Scully's pillow tighter, and in his sleep, he smiled.


	4. Relax and Recharge

Scully was roused from sleep by a knocking sound. She stirred and reached over.

"Mulder, someone is at the door," she groggily croaked out.

The knocking continued.

"Mulder!" she said louder. She reached out, but did not find him.

She opened her eyes and looked over. He was gone. The knocking sounded again and she sat up. She was still wearing her bra, but no bottoms. Oh. That's right.

She sighed and got out of bed. She grabbed her robe, wrapping it around herself, tying the belt as she walked to the door.

"Who is it?" she called as she approached, looking out the peephole.

"Room service, ma'am," called a voice. "I have a breakfast order for Dana Scully."

It was a worker at the hotel, she recognized the outfits, but she had not ordered room service.

"I didn't order room service," she called back. "You've got the wrong room."

She kept watching him. She saw him sigh and look at a receipt.

"No ma'am. It was ordered by a Fox Mulder. He said to have it here by 8:30. I can show you the receipt if you like?" he said as he held it up for her.

She saw that indeed, Mulder had ordered breakfast. His signature was on the receipt. She felt relief where she had not realized she was panicked. Old habits and all that.

She unlocked the door and let him in the room. He pushed the tray in and she could smell food right away. Her stomach growled loudly and she put a hand over it as though to hide the sound.

He did not say anything but she saw him smile. He set the food on the table, arranging everything just so.

"This is decaf coffee," he said picking up the pot. He set it in the middle of the table.

When he was finished, there was quite an assortment of food available. There were strawberries, waffles, bacon, orange juice, orange slices, the coffee, and a bowl of green olives. Her eyes lit up and she popped two into her mouth. She heard him chuckle next to her.

"He was very specific that the olives were included. Guess he was right about you liking them," he said, laughing again.

"Pregnancy cravings are a pain in the ass," she said with a smile, her mouth full of olives.

He continued laughing as he stood back.

"I am to tell you that Mr. Mulder wants you to enjoy a leisurely breakfast, but that you have a massage scheduled for 10:30 and then a pedicure at 12:00," he told her, looking at a piece of paper.

She stood there stunned. Then she smiled. God, she loved him. He was just winning points right and left. She was going to be paying this back with sex for awhile. Good. She looked forward to every second.

She took the paper from him and smiled. He nodded at her, told her to leave the cart in the hall when she was done, and walked out the door. She locked it behind him and then sat down to eat.

There was whipped cream and butter to go on the waffles. She ate a spoonful of whipped cream and closed her eyes. Delicious. She poured a cup of coffee and added some cream. She inhaled the aroma and thought of the coffee waiting for her after she had the baby. She shook her head and smiled at the thought. She could not wait.

She ate her meal slowly, enjoying the morning and the quiet. Her meal was wonderful and the coffee was delicious. She sat back in her chair and sighed, her coffee cup in her hand. She closed her eyes, resting her cup on her stomach. Her own personal shelf.

It was nice to get away and be here like this, even if she moaned and complained to Mulder. Being on her own was something she enjoyed, or more accurately, she enjoyed **time** on her own. Being on her own was not what she would want ever again.

It was quiet at her old house, clean, organized, but also lonely. Sometimes even the quiet was too much and she felt like she would scream just to make a sound. Their little cluttered, out of the way house, was where her heart belonged. Being away like this was a treat, but she was looking forward to heading home.

She looked at her phone, 9:00. She had an hour and a half before she had to be wherever the massage place was located. She checked the receipt and the brochure the man had left her. It was downstairs near the restaurant area.

She finished her food, then decided to take another soak in the tub. She let it fill as she used the toilet and brushed her teeth. She tried a bubble bath this time and when she turned on the jets, the bubbles grew astronomically. She laughed and dunked under the water, feeling like a little kid in her parents big bathtub.

After she was finished and dressed, she packed up her clothes and toiletries. She pulled the covers back and found her underwear in between the blankets. She remembered Mulder pulling them off her, his fingers teasing their way down her legs.

He created such a stirring in her, it made her weak at times. Four years she had gone without feeling his touch, his lips on hers, on her body. Never again. She needed him too much.

She packed everything up, put her food on the cart, and pushed it in the hall. She double checked she had everything, slipped on her shoes, and headed out the door.

She arrived at the spa downstairs and told the receptionist her name. She smiled and escorted her back, inquiring how she was and how her day was going. They made small talk as she showed her where she could change and then where to wait for her masseuse.

Scully changed and entered the waiting area. She picked up a cup of lemon water and sat down. She was the only person in the room. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the water feature bubbling and the soft music playing. The room smelled wonderful and had a relaxing atmosphere.

The door opened and a woman came out calling her name. Scully opened her eyes and started to sit up. The woman came over to help her and smiled at her.

"Well, hello. My name is Angela, it's nice to meet you," she said as she helped Scully to her feet.

They both laughed and smiled as they shook hands. Scully tossed her cup of water in the trash, as Angela led her through the door and to the massage room. She closed the door and turned to Scully.

"As I said, my name is Angela, and I will be your masseuse today," she said with a smile. "I see you're quite far along in your pregnancy, so we will keep it a light massage today. Are there any areas you are particularly concerned about?"

"No," Scully said, smiling back, "This was actually a surprise to me, I didn't plan it. My.. a friend of mine, made the appointment. I don't have any particular areas. Many of them are tired, so I suppose head to toe?"

They both laughed and Angela nodded. She told Scully to disrobe and lie on the table on her side and she would be back in a few minutes.

Scully did as she asked and waited for her. Not long after she was on the table, the door opened. Angela explained she was going to adjust some pillows and begin on her neck and her head. Scully felt her moving things into different positions. When she got it just right, Scully sighed, closing her eyes, and Angela squeezed her shoulder.

She began to rub her shoulders and her neck. Scully exhaled and relaxed into her touch. Angela quietly began telling her the things she was doing and how this was beneficial to both her and the baby. She rubbed her neck with long, light, fluid strokes. She moved from her neck and into her hair and Scully moaned. Angela chuckled lightly, and continued her massaging.

She carefully rubbed her back, her arms, her legs, and her feet. She applied light pressure to her pelvis and hips and Scully began to cry. It felt so good and Angela made soothing sounds. She lay on her back and Angela rubbed her belly with gentle strokes that relaxed her.

Angela came back up and rubbed her head, her temples and her neck. She whispered that she was finished and she would help her sit up when she was ready. She softly stroked Scully's hair as she lay there, letting her body return from her relaxed state.

She opened her teary eyes and Angela was there next to her. She smiled at Scully and again told her to take her time. There was no rush. Scully waited a few minutes and then told her she was ready to sit up. Angela helped her up, moving the pillows as she did.

She held the sheet in place as Scully swung her legs over the side and sat on the table. She took a deep breath and waited a minute. Angela helped her off the table and held her steady as she regained her balance.

"That felt wonderful. Thank you so much," Scully said as Angela grabbed her robe and held it open for her.

"It was my pleasure, I hope it helps you to feel relaxed for the remainder of the day. Although, being so pregnant, I doubt that will happen," Angela teased.

Scully laughed and closed her robe. She turned to Angela and smiled at her.

"Truly, that was needed and I didn't even know it. I can't thank you enough," Scully said sincerely.

Angela smiled and opened the door for her. She led her back to the changing room and said she had time before her pedicure if she wanted to shower and wash the oil out of her hair. Scully smiled and agreed.

They parted ways, with Scully telling her she would be coming to see her again. Angela smiled and waved goodbye. Scully found the showers and disrobed, stepping in and letting the warm water continue her relaxation.

When she had dressed and arrived for her pedicure, there was one other woman there. An older woman, close to her own age and a little girl, about three years old. The receptionist brought Scully back and seated her next to the woman.

She looked at Scully, then her belly and smiled.

"Looks like you're about ready to go there," she said nodding at her belly.

Scully smiled and nodded.

"Next month," she said.

The woman smiled again and nodded back.

The manicurist came up and began to fill the tub with water. Scully put her feet in and sat back. She rested her head against the seat and her hands on her belly. She did not turn the massage chair on, letting the massage she just had, be enough.

The woman next to her called to the little girl who had walked away. She came back and saw Scully. She walked over to her and touched her belly.

"You have a baby?" she asked, looking at her.

"I do," Scully said with a smile.

"Can I see it?" the little girl wanted know.

"Alexandria!" her mother said, and the little girl stepped back. She looked sheepishly at Scully.

"It's okay. I don't mind," Scully said, smiling at the little girl. "The baby is still in my belly, so no one can see her yet. Pretty soon, though."

The little girl nodded and reached her hand up again. Scully nodded at her and she touched her belly again.

She was a cute little girl with black hair and blue eyes and dimples when she smiled. She looked like her mother.

Her mother sighed as she watched her with Scully. She smiled and reached out and touched her daughter's head. The little girl walked away and sat down with a coloring book.

Scully felt an ache in her at the thought of having a little child that age someday.

"Is this your first?" the woman asked as she turned to Scully.

"No," Scully said. "My second, but.. it's been awhile."

"My husband and I tried forever to have a child. My family kept telling me to give up and adopt or be a foster parent, but I wanted my own child. It's all I've ever wanted. My entire life, I wanted to have a child of my own. To feel her grow inside me and know she was **mine** ," the woman said her eyes filling with tears.

Scully felt her despair. She had felt it herself when the IVF failed and she saw her hopes dashed to ever have a child. She felt it when she had to give William up, to protect him, and missed his entire life. She touched her belly again and smiled sadly at the woman.

"We tried IVF twice, almost going in debt to do it. It failed both times and we had given it up as a done deal. Fate had spoken and it was a no for us. I was devastated. But I was also pushing forty. It was time to stop," she looked at Scully and smiled. "We stopped trying, stopped worrying. We went on vacations and tried to heal. It was hard to do, but we got there."

Scully looked at the little girl again, her heart full of happiness that obviously they got what they wanted.

"I started feeling sick and never imagined it was pregnancy. I immediately thought it was cancer or something terrible. I was tired all the time, I'd fainted at work, it was bad," she shook her head and smiled. "When I was tested and the doctor came in and said "pregnant" I told him to shut the fuck up."

She and Scully laughed. Scully remembered that feeling. When she demanded the doctor run her tests again before she believed it was true. Eighteen years ago as well as six months. Hearing those words rocked her to her core.

"I was forty three and would never have believed it was possible. Finally, after all that time. I was terrified. So many possibilities for something bad to happen," she looked over at her little girl and smiled. Then she looked back at Scully. "She is perfect and I needn't have worried. She was, **is** , my reward for waiting for so long. For being patient and knowing this was the plan for my life. To be **her** mother."

They were both crying as they were getting their pedicures. The woman reached out her hand and Scully grasped it. They laughed at their tears and squeezed each other's hands.

"Megan, by the way," the woman said, as she let go of Scully's hand and dried her eyes.

"Dana," Scully said, wiping her own eyes.

They laughed again, shaking their heads.

"It's spooky the way things happen sometimes, isn't it?" Megan asked as she looked Scully in the eyes.

"Spooky," Scully said laughing. "You have no idea."

They laughed again and chatted the rest of the time they sat together. Scully asked Alexandria, to pick out a color for her and she excitedly decided on a bright pink. Scully smiled, anticipating Mulder's reaction to her pink toes with the white flowers she was convinced to get. Alexandria declared both of their toes beautiful when they were finished.

Saying goodbye, and after retrieving her bag from hotel storage, she waited at valet for her car. She thought of Megan and her husband trying so hard and finally being rewarded for waiting patiently for a child.

She thought of her and Mulder never talking much about William for years. Sleeping together every night, not discussing the possibility or desire for another child. Then a discussion in a hotel room and a coming back to each other seemed to somehow do the trick.

The St. Rachel Motel. She should have seen it coming. Fate, destiny, and simply being tired of not being with him. Denying herself the one thing she needed. Him. Always him. Of course, that would somehow lead to a baby. Spooky for damn sure.

Her phone beeped as she stood waiting. It was Mulder, asking her to pick something up for lunch, her choice. She smiled and said she would. She placed a call to Adele's, a restaurant that did to-go orders. She would be there in fifteen minutes. Then home in less than thirty.

She got in the car, tipped the valet, and pulled out onto the streets. Food, then home.

Home. She liked the sound of that word. This day had been wonderful, but she was ready to go home. Home to their little out of the way cluttered house but, most importantly, home to Mulder.


	5. Presents and Presentation

Mulder woke up when his alarm sounded. He rolled over and shut it off. He yawned and stretched his arms above his head. He scrubbed his hands down his face and opened his eyes. He threw the blankets back and got out of bed.

He used the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He put on a pair of jeans and a black shirt before heading downstairs.

The coffee was ready and he poured a cup. He grabbed a pack of Pop-Tarts and ripped it open. He shoved a bite in his mouth as he went to the front door and opened it. He sat outside with his coffee and chewed his food.

He liked being up and outside when it was still early. Scully liked sleeping in, and she usually joined him after she had a bit of a lie in. He liked when she would stumble down the stairs and find him, almost always curling up in his lap. They would discuss the day, or just sit silently.

He thought of what he needed to do before she came home and he got up to do it. He threw away his trash and poured another cup of coffee. He went upstairs and ran the vacuum throughout the rooms and hallway.

He brought it back down along with the laundry basket. He put the vacuum away, grabbed the laundry and headed back upstairs. He made their bed, folded, and put away all the laundry.

He went back downstairs and walked over to the boxes of car seats. They ordered one actual car seat and an extra base the seat sat inside. He opened them both, piled the paperwork, and looked at how the car seat worked. He figured it out and went to place the base in his car. Once it was done, he clicked the seat in and stepped back. Well, that was easy. Now he just needed to add the extra base into Scully's car.

He put the boxes away, not sure if they should toss them out. He put the car seat paperwork on his desk. He looked at the clock and saw that the woman bringing the gifts would be there in fifteen minutes. He took his cup of coffee and sat back on the porch to wait.

True to her word, she pulled up at 9:00 sharp. She stepped out and smiled at him. She was an attractive woman and dressed nicely for mass.

Mulder stood up and came down the stairs to greet her. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries. She blushed when she explained that she had volunteered to bring the gifts because she admired Doctor Scully. Mulder laughed and nodded.

She opened the back of her car and they began to unload the items. Multiple gift bags and boxes soon filled the living room.

Annabelle stood in the living room and looked around. She stared at the I Want To Believe poster on the wall and turned to Mulder.

"Do you believe in aliens?" she asked him, her head tilted to the side.

He stared at her and thought how he should answer. This woman obviously liked Scully and he did not want her to be known as the doctor having a baby with a "weirdo." He was about to answer when she smiled and laughed.

"I was obsessed with aliens when I was younger. I wanted to know **everything** about them. It drove my parents crazy, especially being as religious as they were. But I couldn't get enough of it. I wanted to go to all the hotspots where I'd heard of alien activity. Brown Mountain in North Carolina. Lake Okobogee in Iowa. I wanted to go to Area 51 so badly, but.." she trailed off and shrugged her shoulders.

Mulder stared at her in disbelief. He shook his head and then laughed.

"I've been to all those places," Mulder said, looking at her again.

"What? Even Area 51?" she said, her eyes wide. "Seriously?!"

Mulder nodded, his grin widening.

"I don't remember much about Area 51 except being kicked out by some government people. Some jackass with two much power and a shitty attitude," he said, shaking his head at the memory. "We only made it as far as the highway and Scully didn't really want to be there as it was."

"You call her "Scully"?" she asked, a smile pulling at her lips.

"Huh? Uh.. yeah. I always have," he replied, looking down.

"Was that because you worked in the FBI? Like how we see in movies? Everyone calling each other by their last names?" she asked him, crossing her arms and watching him.

"No. I didn't call everyone by their last name. I think I did it at first to rattle her. To poke and see what irritated the hive," he said, looking at her. She smiled at him. "After that, it just became her name. It's just who we are. Mulder and Scully. I honestly don't think much about it until someone mentions it. She's just "Scully" to me."

She grinned and nodded. She looked back at the poster and sighed.

"I need to go to my parents and get some of my boxes out of their garage. I want to put **my** poster back up," she said as she walked toward the door.

Mulder laughed and followed her out. She walked to the car and turned around.

"Doctor Scully is an amazing doctor. I've never seen anyone like her. She has truly inspired me to want to be better and do better," she looked down at her feet and then back at him. "I don't know her plans after the baby is born, but I hope she comes back to the hospital. Not right away, she should be home with the baby, but eventually. She is brilliant and we need more women like her. A woman who will help to inspire others to strive further, who will in turn inspire others. Will you please tell her that for me?"

Mulder nodded his head, his pride for Scully swelling inside him. Annabelle nodded and got in her car. She backed up and drove away, waving out the window.

Mulder stood there and thought of all the people Scully had touched in her life. Professionally and personally. He wondered how many women would consider her a role model and the force that pushed them forward. Seeing her as a strong woman in a field dominated mostly by men. She seemed to have created a ripple effect in her field. A Scully effect, he thought. He smiled at that and turned back to the house. He liked the thought of his partner in all aspects of life being a person others looked up to and admired.

He walked inside and started to look through the things she had received. He put away the wine and coffee and put the bubble bath on the stairs. He smiled at those gifts. He had called Doctor Reynolds and passed along some ideas for Scully if the other guests had been inquiring into what she liked.

He looked at the baby carriers and shook his head. He would wait for her to show him how those worked. He looked at all the clothes and blankets. He made a pile of items and collapsed the bags down as he went through them.

In one bag he found a drawing that had to be from Raina. It looked like another potato person, but one seemed to have a face on its stomach. Maybe this was Scully and the baby. He smiled at the drawing and hung it on the wall.

He went upstairs and grabbed the laundry basket, bringing it downstairs and filling it with the upstairs items. Soap, lotions, cleansing liquids and other supplies. Books and some baskets were also added to it. He stacked the bubble bath and then the baby carriers on top, heading back upstairs.

He put the books in the bookcase and added the stuffed animals. The baskets and supplies he put on the changing table. The carriers he also added to it. He looked at the room. It was really coming together now. He smiled and closed the door as he walked out. He walked back to their room, dropping off the laundry basket.

He headed back downstairs and put the clothing items in the laundry room. He put the gift bags in the office and then plopped down on the couch. 10:30. Scully would be home in a couple of hours.

He yawned and leaned back into the pillows. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He would just rest his eyes for a few minutes.

He woke up with a start. It was 12:30. He jumped up and looked for his phone as his stomach growled. He found it and sent Scully a text to stop and get some food on her way home, whatever she wanted. She said she would, and he looked around, being sure everything was done.

It looked good, clean, and ready. He went outside and sat in the chair on the porch to wait for Scully. She should be there in about half an hour. Knowing her, she was probably going to stop at Adele's and get something. She liked their salads and she knew he liked their ham sandwiches.

Just about thirty minutes later, he saw her car start to pull up. He walked down the stairs so he could meet her and also stop her from seeing the porch swing.

She pulled up in the driveway and stopped. He walked over to her door and opened it for her. She took her seatbelt off and slid out of the car. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him deeply.

"Thank you for the morning I had, Mulder. Everything was wonderful, but that massage was perfect and felt amazing," she said, her arms looped around his neck.

He locked his hands around her back and smiled at her.

"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it. You deserve it," he moved his hands to her belly and said hello to the baby.

She laughed and stepped away from him. She opened the back passenger door and he saw the bags of food. Adele's. He knew it.

He grabbed the food and her bag, offering her his arm. She took it with a smile and they started walking toward the stairs. She had her eyes down and did not notice the swing until they were at the top of the stairs and she saw the furniture had been moved.

She looked over at the swing and then back at him.

"Oh, Mulder," she said and let go of his arm and walked over to the swing.

She touched the side and pushed it a little with her hand. Her hand brushed across the pillows and then the cushioned seat. She looked at him and touched his chest, before turning and attempting to sit in the swing.

He laughed and set down the bags of things in one of the chairs. He took her hand and held the swing steady so she could sit down. She scooted back and patted the seat. He smiled and sat next to her.

He settled in and pushed with his foot to get the swing going. She put her head against his shoulder and sighed. They sat and rocked for a few minutes.

"I love this, Mulder. Thank you so much," she said quietly.

He lifted his arm and put it around her, allowing her to cuddle into him more. Her arm slide around his waist and he smiled. Any trouble the swing caused was worth it for this moment. Sitting with her, the warm air stirring around them, the smell of flowers in her hair. He closed his eyes and they sat for a little bit longer.

He heard her sigh again.

"This is perfect. I can't believe you did this on top of everything else. Mulder, it's wonderful," she said before she sat up.

She leaned in and kissed him, then sat up and reached for his hand. She locked their fingers together and stared at him. She shook her head and smiled. He squeezed her hand and stood up. He stopped the swing again and helped her off of it. She laughed as he held her steady.

"I can't seem to do anything without assistance these days, I'm like a walking bowling pin- bigger on the bottom and easily knocked off balance," she said as she held her hands against his chest and they both laughed.

He kissed her and reached for the bags in the chair.

"Come on, let's eat. I'm starving," he said as he opened the screen door.

"Let me guess, Pop-Tarts for breakfast this morning?" she asked sarcastically.

"You know me so well, Scully," he answered, smiling at her as she started to walk through the door.

She gasped as she was met with a room different than when she left. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"Should I expect to be met with these kinds of surprises the rest of the afternoon? Should I anticipate tears for the rest of the day?" she asked as she wiped her eyes.

"I'd say that's a safe bet," he laughed as he set their food on the table and put her bag on the stairs.

"Mulder, it looks so great in here. I.. thank you," she said, turning as she looked all around.

"You're welcome, Scully. Get over here and let's eat. Starving, remember?" he said, opening the bags.

She laughed and walked over to the table. He set everything down, grabbed a fork for her to eat her salad, and opened the containers.

He picked up his sandwich and took a big bite. Delicious. He wiped his hand across his mouth and she stared at him as she shook her head. He grinned at her and took another bite.

She started eating her salad, but kept looking around at the room and then at him.

"The books are off the stairs. You put the desk away. Mulder.."

"Don't want anyone to trip over something on the stairs, especially holding the baby. I should have cleaned it off years ago. It was laziness and stubbornness that stopped me before," he said around a big bite of food.

"Some of those books were mine," she stated. "You're not completely to blame for the mess on the stairs. We both got lazy."

He stared at her, the double meaning not lost on him. He saw when she realized what she said and how it was received.

"I didn't.. "

"Scully," he cut across her, reaching for her hand. "I got lazy, maybe we both did, but it was my mess that was all over this house. My sadness and darkness that seemed to creep into everything. It was my job to clean it, to take care of it. I should have done that a long time ago too, but again I was lazy."

She squeezed his hand, tears in her eyes again.

"It's time to move forward, Scully. Having the visible reminder of my stupid mistakes sitting in the middle of the room, if **that's** not a fucking metaphor, I don't know what is," he said and they both laughed.

"The room is still not quite what I want, but we can make the decisions together. The way we always have and always will. For now though, it's enough. It will get us to the next step," he squeezed her hand this time before letting go to take another bite.

She wiped her eyes again and picked up her fork. She ate her salad, sniffing back her tears. She sighed and looked at him again. He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back.

"So, have all the items from this room become a mess in another room?" she asked teasingly.

He shook his head and smiled. "Surprisingly, I actually put things away. Well, it's..contained."

"Ahhh," she said, reaching over to steal a piece of his sandwich. "That's the Mulder I know." She shoved the food in her mouth and they both smiled at each other.

They finished their food and cleaned up. He told her he had put the car seat in his car. She wanted to see how he did it when he put the base in her car. They took the base out to her car and he set it in the car for her. He took the car seat from his car and put it in hers. She was impressed with the ease of it. He took the seat out and brought it back in the house, setting it in the living room.

She stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at him. She looked upstairs and then back to him. He smiled and nodded. She had a look of excitement as they began to walk up the stairs.

She stopped in front of the baby's door and waited for him. He looked at her and smirked. She raised her eyebrow at him. He put his hand on the door and stared at her harder. She closed her eyes, knowing what he wanted.

He opened the door and stepped inside, to the side. He could see her, but was not in her way of seeing the room. She stayed in the doorway waiting, until he told her to open her eyes.

He kept his eyes on her face and he was not disappointed. She gasped and tried to look everywhere all at once. She stepped in the room and said nothing as she looked all over, tears in her eyes.

"Oh my god, Mulder.." she said quietly, walking over to him and grazing her hand down his chest.

She walked over to the changing table and looked at it and then the picture hanging over it. She looked at him and gave him a shaky smile.

She walked over to the crib and smiled at the sheet he picked. She ran her hands over the blanket hanging on the rail, smiling again as she touched it.

She turned and looked at the shadow box, picking it up and holding it in her hands. She ran her fingers lightly over the glass. He could see tears on her cheeks.

"Mulder.." she whispered, as she set it down and continued looking around the room.

She touched the lamp on the bookcase. She looked at the stuffed animals and the books and smiled. She sat in the rocking chair and closed her eyes as she put her feet up and rocked. He smiled as he watched her. Her hands on her belly, rocking their baby inside her body.

She opened her eyes and saw him watching her. She smiled at him. He crossed his arms and grinned at her. She put her head back again, closing her eyes and smiling.

He waited, happy to watch her relax and enjoy this moment. She sighed and put her feet down, starting to stand up. He came over and helped her. She stared at him and smiled.

She started to step forward when the pictures on the wall by the rocking chair seemed to catch her eye. The drawings of Evaline. She looked at them both and then she gasped, turning to him.

"Evaline?" she said in disbelief. "Evaline the Brave? Oh, Mulder.."

She stepped a little closer and looked at them. She touched the drawing of his mother's and looked at him.

"Your mother drew this?" she asked. At his nod, she sighed and shook her head. "She's beautiful."

He heard tears in her voice. She moved to the one Samantha drew and she laughed with a sob at the end. She touched this one as well. When she looked at him, she had tears on her cheeks again.

"Where in the world did you find these? Have they been in your desk all this time and you forgot?" she asked him, stepping toward him.

"No," he said, stepping back, letting her pass by the footstool. "Scully, they were in that box from your mom's house. I remember some of the other papers being at my apartment, but I don't remember these particular ones. I have no idea how they got there. I'm going with, it was your mom. Always watching out for me. A piece of my past for our present and future. Maggie Scully. The patron saint of hopefulness and love."

Scully began to cry and he held her close. She wrapped her arms around him and he felt her crying against him. He looked at the drawings, thinking of the box he found them in and he knew somehow those items were destined to be saved and kept by Mrs. Scully.

Without knowing the importance and happiness they would bring, she put them in a box, labeled it, and stored it for them. She kept his memories safe until he could share them with Scully and their child. He closed his eyes and thanked her for the millionth time. For being the person she was and for creating the person he loved.

Scully pulled back and wiped her eyes. She then leaned her head against his chest for a moment. She leaned back and looked at him. He stroked her face and she closed her eyes.

She let go of him and stepped back. She sighed and then noticed the pictures on the dresser. She smiled and laughed at them as she stepped closer to look at them. She picked up the one of her looking at him, his favorite, and she smiled. She looked over at him and he saw the same look on her face. So much love in that look.

She put the picture back and looked around again. She shook her head and smiled. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He held her and laid his head on hers, kissing her head as he did. She was so quiet as they stood there, he could hear every breath she took.

They stood together, holding on to one another. Happiness and love seemed to pour from them, from the care put into creating this room, and the love that would continue to grow in the future.


	6. Questions and Answers

"There is one more thing," Mulder said into her hair as he held her.

He pulled back and looked at her, holding her face on his hands.

"You have to close your eyes," he said with a smile.

"Mulder," she said, a suspicious look on her face as she let go of him.

"Come on, Scully. Humor me," he said crossing his arms.

She looked at him, narrowing her eyes, then she closed them, her eyebrows raised. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, her back to the door. She laughed but kept her eyes closed. She could hear him moving around, and her curiosity began rising.

"Okay," he said quietly.

She opened her eyes and Mulder was kneeling on one knee with a jewelry box in his hands.

With a greater ability than she thought she could handle at this stage in her pregnancy, she fell to her knees in front of him.

"Mulder," she said breathlessly, her heart racing. "What are you doing?"

"Scully," he said, lightly grasping her hands, setting the box down, his other knee dropping to the floor. "I know I've asked you this question before.."

"Four times," she responded quietly, her mind finding every one of them, like files stored away in a drawer.

The first time, after they lay hot and sweaty in a motel room awash in the afterglow, running for their lives. The second time as they were stuck in traffic coming back from dinner at her mother's house. The third time sitting on the porch one evening, her with a glass of wine and him with a beer. The fourth time, New Year's Eve, the two of them on the couch.

Every time she had said no. Sometimes laughingly when the mood had felt light and he seemed half serious. Sometimes with a long speech as to why she felt it was unnecessary for them to need a piece of paper to state who they were to each other. That marriage was an antiquated practice and she was happy with what they had.

The only time she had come close to saying yes, was on New Year's Eve. She had been sitting with him, homemade popcorn and the dark chocolate fudge her mother had sent back with them after Christmas dinner on the coffee table, remembering a New Year's Eve long ago. The first time he had kissed her and the butterflies she had felt. The way he had smiled at her and how she felt happier in that single moment, than any other she could remember.

She had leaned her head on his shoulder and grasped his hand. A minute left and she thought of how this could possibly be their last year. If the world **was** going to end, by his side was the only place she wanted to be. He squeezed her hand as the seconds counted down.

As the ball hit, he leaned in and kissed her. The same soft kiss from years ago. Same smile as he pulled back. It was like he could read her mind at times. She held his face as she kissed him back, deeper and with more intent. She slid in his lap and began to slip her hands under his shirt.

"Marry me, Scully." He had said, stilling her hands. She looked at him, his eyes serious and full of so much love. She could hear the music on the television and could not think of a better moment to say yes, to agree to be with him forever in every way possible. She had stared at him, felt the answer climbing up her throat, the word "yes" preparing to tumble out, but it got stuck along the way. Jammed up by a force she did not understand.

He sighed. His disappointment showing, but then he gave her a small smile. He held her face and kissed her, softly and so sweetly.

"One day, Scully," he whispered, resting his forehead to hers. "One day, I will figure out how to get you to say yes. One day, I will find the key that will open that lock."

That was the last time he had asked her. The next year they did not celebrate New Year's Eve. The predetermined date that had been set, had come and gone, and nothing happened. Mulder did not understand why and he began to fall down the darkest hole he had ever been in before. She could no longer reach him, the distance was too great.

Seven years. It had been seven years since they were in a place where he would have thought to even ask her again. What a waste of such precious time. She felt her heart growing heavy as her eyes filled with tears.

He saw her tears and gently wiped them from her eyes. He held her face in his hands, looking at her with the eyes she loved and could read so well. She saw such love and tenderness reflected in them, she wanted to weep.

He pulled her close and held her. Their growing baby between them, the love they shared which created a new life, nestled within her body. He pulled back and leaned back on his calves.

"It's been seven years since the last time I asked you. Almost, anyway. Seven years full of ups and downs, mostly downs. Deep downs. I.. I know we're moving past the pain and suffering I put you through, put **us** through. But it happened and I know I fucked up," he took a deep breath and he closed his eyes.

"Do you want to stand up?" he asked her, as he opened his eyes.

"I don't think I can," she whispered.

He helped her to sit cross legged and he continued kneeling. She thought maybe he was doing penance. Staying on his knees, again asking for absolution.

"When you left, Scully, I was broken. I was angry and hurt. But, I know now, it was what we both needed. You were right to go," he said, holding her eyes with his, being sure she understood.

"But, Scully," he said shaking his head. "the moment, the defining moment when I realized exactly what a huge mistake I had made, pushing away the one person I loved and needed in my life, was the day I stopped reaching for you."

She looked at him with tears in her eyes again. His head was bowed, his eyes closed. He looked up at her and he had tears in his eyes as well.

"Every morning, I would wake up and reach for you, as if I forgot during the night that you were gone," he said quietly, his eyes full of sadness. "Every morning for two years, Scully, I would reach for you and my arms would come up empty."

She bowed her head and cried. Those days always so fresh in her mind. The days without him, the nights even worse. Missing his warm body beside her. His scent, his arms around her as they slept. Their conversations in bed which were some of the most intense and soul searching they had ever had. His touch on her skin, making her tingle. Their lovemaking and the way he knew just how to please her.

"One morning," he began again, taking her hands as she looked up at him. "I got up and walked into the bathroom. I took a shower, got dressed, went downstairs to make coffee. As I waited for it to brew, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. It hit me as the coffee finished brewing. I didn't reach for you that morning."

She bit her lip to stop the tears she felt building. She needed to hear this again as much as he needed to say it. To take this pain they both suffered and finally move past it.

"As soon as I realized what was wrong, I sat at the table and wept. That it had become so normal to not have you there, I forgot to try and reach for you. I cried for everything I had put us through and then I cried for me. I didn't know how to get you back, or even if you would **want** to come back. I had pushed you so far away," he said and she squeezed his hands.

"I sat there at the table for a long time. Making decisions and plans to get you to come back. To be with me again, happy and whole. But, in the days after, I did nothing about it. I grew angry with myself at my lack of action. Angry at **you** even though you hadn't done anything. Then you called me one day and asked me about Tad O'Malley," he shook his head, his eyes closed. "I was still sore at myself and you by association, so I was short with you when I saw you. I made callous comments that I knew would rankle you. I wanted you to hurt the way I was hurting, so I pushed when I should have reached out. So many times.." he trailed off, shaking his head again.

"It has taken us a long time to get back to where we are, Scully. For me to even consider asking you. To have the balls to even venture taking this chance. I'm not asking this of you now because we are on the verge of this crazy new chapter of our life together," he said, letting go of one hand to hold her face. "I'm asking because, I don't ever want to wake up one day and not reach for you again. I want to reach out and find you there, right where you have always belonged. By my side and close to my heart."

She wrapped her hand around his wrist and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and tears spilled down her cheeks. She opened her eyes and he was staring at her. She could see fear and hope intermingled in his eyes. She let go of his wrist and held his face, pulling him down for a kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and his went around her waist. They sat there for a few moments. She pulled back and gave him a small smile.

"Mulder, I have said no in the past because marriage is not something I felt was ever "us," she said quietly. "I don't need to see your name and mine on a piece of paper, or have a ring around my finger to know where I belong. I've known that since I first met you. You challenged me from the moment I walked through the door. You ran headlong into me and I didn't try to stop you. Your desire for everything was contagious and I willingly became infected with it."

He smiled at her choice of words. It was a good explanation for their relationship. A contagious desire to find answers. It had infected them both until she wanted out and he did not. None of that was worth the price he paid losing her and she him. She knew he knew that now. Knew they both knew it.

"I almost said yes the last time you asked me. I felt it, but I couldn't do it. But look where that would have left us. Married and separated within two years. Of course we didn't know the future, but would it have made these past four years harder or easier? Would being married have made us try harder? Would we.. have gotten divorced? God..that hurts to even think about, let alone to say," she clutched her chest and took a sobbing gulp of air.

"Scully, we can't change the past. I.. I don't even know that I would," he said and her head jerked up. "Seven years we were partners, the only person the other trusted implicitly, best friends, until the night we took that step forward. Would you change that past? Move it forward or back?"

She stared at him. So many moments raced through her mind. Moments where they had been so close to moving forward. Nights she had stood outside his hotel room door, wanting to go to him. Nights she had wanted to call him and tell him how she felt. Times when he had driven her crazy, but all she wanted to do was kiss him, push him against the wall and rip his clothes off.

But then she thought of the what the morning after those times would have been like, how they would have proceeded. Would they have gotten closer or pushed each other away? Knowing what they went through then, his brain anomaly, his abduction, his death and then resurrection. No. She would not change that past. It all led to where it needed to go. The heartache that came with it, that was a learning tool. Preparing them for the future. This future.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "No, I wouldn't change that past. It all transpired the way it was always meant to."

"Exactly," he said, reaching for her hands again. "Things happened the way they did for a reason. We may have wanted them to go quicker or wish they had slowed down when we knew their outcome in the future, but then it wouldn't be our past, Scully. **Our** story is ours because of it. These past four years have been hard and so goddamn lonely, but they have made me appreciate you more than ever. I can't say with total honesty that I would understand that, if I hadn't lost you. If you walking out that door hadn't woken my ass up. I can't say where we would be."

She nodded and they looked at one another. Relying on their unspoken communication to speak to the other the best way they knew how. She heard so much when they spoke this way. His eyes had always been her guide. She knew something was wrong when he would not look at her. Had seen his heart laid bare to her so many times when his eyes were on hers.

He took a deep breath and reached for the box. She took a deep breath too, feeling anxious, nervous, and excited all at once. This was it, this was the last time he would ask. The last time he would need to. She knew she would say yes, but she wanted to tease him a little first.

"Can I see what's in the box, before you ask me?" she asked him, a teasing smile on her face.

"No, you cannot," he said, staring at her hard, an exasperated huff coming out of his mouth.

"Well, I'm just a little curious because, as you know, they say two months salary is what you should spend. And Mulder, seeing as how you don't have a job right now…" she shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows.

"Shut up," he said through this teeth.

She smiled and crossed her hands in her lap and looked up at him expectantly. He cleared his throat and shook his head. She smiled wider and he grinned back.

"Scully, I've asked you this many times. Sometimes I've asked halfheartedly, trying to get a rise out of you," she chuckled and he smiled. Then his face was serious. "Other times I've asked and been completely serious, my heart breaking a little when you said no. But, I always knew it wouldn't matter if we were married or not, because it was still **us**. You're right that a piece of paper and a ring does not a marriage make, but..I'd like it anyway. Knowing that we have been bound by law as well as by heart," he paused and reached for her hands, setting the box down.

"What it comes down to Scully," he said quietly, looking in her eyes. "Is that I love you. I want to be joined with you in every way. So, I ask you this now, reaching out from my heart to yours. Will you marry me?"

She stared at him, here on the floor of their baby's room. Him on his knees, her sitting cross legged and heavy with their child, their hands joined together. There was no fancy dinner, no ring in the champagne or fancy dessert. Just them, in a room of new beginnings and journeys that lay ahead. It seemed fitting that it would be here in this room, in this house they turned into a home together. This was where they became **them**. Here they would remain and add to the fray. She took a deep breath and said the only words that seemed fitting to such an important question.

"I guess," she said with a smile.

He smiled the goofy grin she loved every time she saw it. He raised his fists in the air and threw his head back.

"She said "I guess"!" he shouted loudly in the quiet house.

She laughed and then put her lips together, trying to hold back her smile. She failed horribly. She felt so happy and he was so adorably excited, she felt her soul light up.

He put his hands down and looked at her. She could see her happiness reflected in his eyes and they both reached for each other at the same time. She wrapped her arms around his neck again and his went around her waist. He chuckled into her hair and she smiled.

He pulled back and held her face in his hands. He kissed her deeply, all his love seeming to pour into this particular kiss. She felt it all over her body and her heart was fairly singing.

"You guess?" he asked, rolling his eyes as he pulled back and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. He smiled at her and shook his head.

"Well.. I still haven't seen what's in the box.." she said playfully as she eyed it on the floor.

He laughed and took his hands off her face. He picked up the box and turned it toward her before he opened it. She was looking at the box, waiting for him to open it, then she looked up to find him staring at her. She kept her eyes on him as he opened it. The ring did not really matter. It was the man holding the box that did.

She heard it creak open and she glanced down. She gasped and then her eyes flew back to his, then back to the box. It was not a ring at all, but a gold cross necklace. Just a bit bigger than hers, with a stone in the middle. An opal. It was beautiful.

"Mulder.." she said as she touched the necklace. She shook her head at the colors that were captured from the light in the opal.

"I know you've said you're not a ring person," he said, taking the necklace out of the box, closing it and setting it back down. "But, you are a necklace one. I also know that eventually, boy or girl, you would want to pass your necklace on," he raised her chin up to meet his eyes. "So, I wanted to get you a necklace that was still **you** but a little different. Just as you are now."

He had the necklace in his hands, hanging it by the chain. She looked at it as it swung lightly, before she caught it in her hands. He let go and she stared at the beauty of the stone inside it. So many colors danced and played in the light, it was absolutely beautiful.

"You know," she said as she touched the opal and marveled at its perfection. "Some cultures believed that opals had supernatural powers, or fell from the heavens when lightning hit the earth. Some people thought it could guard them from disease. Some even considered it as a symbol of hope and truth or simply good luck,"

"Who needs Google, when you've got Scully?" he said with pride in his voice.

She looked at him and her brows furrowed. She pulled him to her and buried her face in his neck. She breathed in the scent of this man she loved so much. The man who knew her so well, he bought her a necklace instead of a ring.

She put her head on his shoulder. "My answer definitely wasn't good enough," she whispered.

He chuckled and pulled her tighter. He breathed a deep breath and rubbed her back.

He pulled back and looked at her. "Will you marry me?" he asked again with a smile on his face.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Phew, that was a close one," he said as he reached around to unclasp her necklace, both of them chuckling. He handed it to her and exchanged it for the one in her hands. He leaned back and looked at her, the goofy smile back on his face.

"It looks beautiful," he said, holding the cross between his fingers. "You're right about the history of the opal, but that's not why I chose it," he released it and let it fall back onto her chest.

"I chose it because it's the only stone that captures the colors of every other stone. All of our birthstones reflected in one. Yours, mine, the baby's, and William's," he said as she reached and held it in her fingers, softly caressing it. "All of us together, close to your heart."

She smiled and felt tears in her eyes. "God, Mulder. Seriously, you are getting so mushy and sentimental in your old age."

"Hey!" he said, feigning outrage.

She leaned forward and kissed him. She held his face in her hands and stared at him. "I love it, Mulder. It's perfect. It's exactly what I would have picked."

He smiled and kissed her again. Then he leaned back and started to get up. He moaned and she laughed as she heard pops and cracks as he stood all the way up. He put a hand on his lower back and swore a couple times.

She put her hands out and he pulled her up. He held her while she regained her balance, stealing a kiss while he did. He took the necklace she still held in her hands and walked over by the crib. There was an empty nail on the wall she had not noticed before.

He hung the necklace there, his fingers stroking it, before he ran the cross between his thumb and forefinger. He shook his head and turned back to her.

He pulled her close and they looked at the necklace hanging there.

"Think of it, Scully. Think of how much has happened with that necklace. How many times it has been lost and found it's way back. It's like us in that regard. We've lost our way many times. Yet here we are, together, as we were meant to be," he said against her hair, as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

She sniffled lightly, but these tears were tears of happiness. He was right, the necklace was symbolic of them. It may have lost its way from time to time, but it always came back.

The new necklace would never lose its way. She knew where it, and she, would always be and always stay. Here, in this home with this man who had been like a strike of lightning in her life. Bright and full of energy. The man who found a cure for her disease and was her symbol of hope and truth. He had surely picked the best stone when he picked that opal. He knew what he was doing.

She held him tighter and closed her eyes. She loved him so much. He squeezed back and kissed her head.

"I love this necklace, Mulder. I do, but..hmm I don't know. I kinda feel like maybe, I **might** , be a ring person. Maybe?" she said into his chest, joking but not wanting him to see her smile.

He laughed and let go of her. He stepped back and smiled at her before he turned and walked back by the box. She looked at him quizzically as he picked it up and walked back to her.

He opened the box and took out the necklace holder. Underneath, lay a simple gold band with a small diamond set in it. She gasped as he took her hand and slid the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

"I'm not an idiot," he said, giving her a knowing smile.

"Oh, Mulder!" she exclaimed, looking at the ring. She was speechless.

This too was perfect. Nothing too grand, just what she would have picked. Simple, but beautiful. She shook her head and looked at him. He smiled at her and raised his eyebrows.

"I love you," she said, staring at him. She felt surprised but also not, all at once. Of course he would have a ring. Of course the man who asked her four times and had been rejected every time, would be traditional, but also so Mulder about it. The necklace was the real gift, but the ring was for her.

As much as she said she did not want to get married, that it was not necessary, deep down she knew she did. And he knew she did. And he knew she wanted the ring, too.

He stepped back and put his hands out wide, gesturing to the room, to her, and the room again. She smiled and then stepped toward him.

"You did a great job painting the room, Mulder. I'm sure Skinner appreciated your help as he put all the furniture together," she said cheekily.

"You wound me, Scully. Right in the heart," he said as he put his hands over his heart.

She laughed and wrapped her arms around him again. "It's perfect, Mulder. All of it is perfect. Aside from the room, when did you have time to plan all this?"

"Well," he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. "As you so kindly mentioned earlier, I **am** unemployed. It's amazing the things you can find to do when you have nothing but time and the drive to find what you need. Both of those pieces of jewelry are antiques. I knew what I wanted, I just had to find them."

She thought of him, spending his days searching for just the right items, and her heart filled with love. He had grown and changed so much in the last couple of years. She loved him more than ever for it.

She looked around the room. The paint, the pictures, the furniture, the chair, everything was perfect. It felt good. They were ready. They were **engaged**. Jesus..

She pulled back and looked at her ring again. She looked up at him and he was watching her as she looked at the ring. She shook her head and smiled at him.

"Is it time for bed yet?" she asked him, putting her hands on his chest. The ring catching the light and lighting a fire inside her.

"Bed? It's the middle of the afternoon. Are you tired?" he asked, surprise showing on his face.

"Oh, no. I'm not tired," she said, her hands running down his chest to the bottom of his shirt. She looked at him and watched his eyes widen.

He grabbed her hand and whirled her around, pushing her shoulders to get her through the door. She laughed as he kept going until she was in their bedroom and he closed the door firmly behind them.

Her laughter echoed down the hall, filling a recently lonely house, with happiness and love.


End file.
